At the heart of the system, the C1 (Cellular 1) chip first appears in the iPhone 16e. It is also expected to debut in other Apple devices in the coming months and will likely see use across all or most of the iPhone range by this time next year. Apple calls it “the most power efficient modem ever in an iPhone.”

Phone 17 5G modems will be made by MediaTek, as Apple moves away from Qualcomm. Future iPhones will use Apple's solutions instead.

Apple and Qualcomm's relationship has been strained for a decade and the iPhone 16e C1 chip is Apple's first move to cut ties once and for all.

Apple plans to move away from Qualcomm modems in the Apple Watch while bolstering its new in-house alternatives, according to The

Apple has been working on its own 5G modem chip for at least 7 years, and now it is finally being released. The C1 cost billions and comes partly from Munich.

However, we can’t say we’re too surprised. Chip development isn’t an overnight endeavor so Apple needs to start work early if they hope to get it ready in time for future re

Apple only just revealed the C1 modem with iPhone 16e on Wednesday, but there's already a rumor about the C2 being tested internally.