Apple has been developing its own 5G modem for the iPhone for several years, and its plans are even more ambitious than expected. According to a new report by Mark Gurman, the company aims to launch the modem in 2025 with the iPhone SE 4. The report also outlines Apple’s roadmap for the years ahead, which appears focused on eliminating its reliance on Qualcomm entirely.
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The idea of the iPhone SE 4 being equipped with Apple’s first 5G modem isn’t entirely new. In October, 9to5Mac reported this along with other features of the upcoming smartphone. However, the new Bloomberg report offers a more in-depth look at Apple’s program and its broader goals.
In addition to the iPhone SE 4, Gurman reports that Apple plans to use its first-generation 5G modem in the iPhone 17 Slim (or Air) and entry-level iPad models, both expected in 2025. Tim Cook’s strategy is to roll out the modem gradually, minimizing potential issues with its early adoption in higher-end devices.
Developing its own 5G modem has proven to be more challenging than Apple initially anticipated. The company acquired Intel’s division focused on these components in 2019, but the early results were not very promising.
Initial prototypes of Apple’s 5G modem didn’t work properly—they were too large and suffered from overheating. At the time, it was reported that the biggest challenge was the software originally created by Intel, which required almost a complete rewrite of the code. There were also rumors that Apple had abandoned the project, though it was never clear if this was true.
According to Bloomberg’s report, the situation changed when Apple began hiring engineers with experience at Qualcomm. With this new talent, the project gained momentum, leading to a first commercial version of the 5G modem that will be ready for the iPhone SE 4.
Apple’s 5G Modem Will Debut in the iPhone SE 4, but Future Plans Are Even More Ambitious
Gurman reports that Apple’s first 5G modem, debuting in the iPhone SE 4 and other devices in 2025, is internally named Sinope. However, it has some limitations compared to Qualcomm’s current modems. Its download speeds are expected to reach 4 Gbps, while Qualcomm’s modems offer 10 Gbps. It also lacks support for the millimeter-wave (mmWave) band.
Despite these limitations, Sinope will be a solid first step and lay the foundation for future improvements. According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to introduce a second-generation 5G modem in 2026, called Ganymede. This will debut in the iPhone 18 and reach high-performance iPads in 2027.
In 2027, Apple plans to introduce Prometheus, the third-generation version of its 5G modem. Although the specific devices for this modem are not mentioned, it is expected that by then, Apple will be confident that its modem’s capabilities will surpass those of Qualcomm’s hardware. In addition to supporting advanced cellular connectivity, the Prometheus modem will also be compatible with next-generation satellite networks.
If Apple manages to match Qualcomm’s 5G modem performance in 2026 and exceed it by 2027, both the iPhone and other Apple devices would experience significant advancements. The evolution doesn’t stop there—Apple is also reportedly exploring the possibility of integrating the 5G modem directly into the SoC (System on Chip) of its devices.
