2025 iPhones and iPads might have new Apple chips in them

By Bryan M. Wolfe Published September 20, 2024

Home Screen of the M4 iPad Pro. — Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends

For many years, Apple has been committed to replacing third-party parts in its products with those it manufactures itself. A notable instance is when Apple moved away from Intel-based processors for its Macs and replaced them with in-house Apple M series chips. It now appears that more Apple-made parts may be incorporated into some of its mobile products as soon as next year.

According to DigiTimes, Apple plans to use its own Wi-Fi chips in the 2025 iPads and the following year’s iPhone 18 series. The upcoming iPhone SE 4 could also be the first iPhone equipped with an Apple-branded 5G chip, with the iPhone 17 series expected to follow suit later in the same year.

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Excluding the two new in-house network chips (Wi-Fi and 5G) from next year’s iPhone makes sense from a supply standpoint. It also helps to reduce potential early problems with the chips. Further, it makes sense to introduce the 5G chip first in the less popular iPhone SE 4 before its flagship devices — making it a testing ground before expanding the 5G chip to other iPhones.

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Apple reportedly faces challenges integrating the mmWave technology into the 5G chip. As a result, the company may need to depend on Qualcomm for assistance, as the company’s chip deal is set to last until 2027. Broadcom serves as Apple’s leading supplier of Wi-Fi chips.

This news comes as Apple officially launches the iPhone 16 series worldwide. The series includes the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Earlier this year, the company introduced new versions of iPad Pro and iPad Air. New versions of the regular iPad and iPad mini could make their debuts as early as next month.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.

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