Apple reportedly had development and legal issues with its 5G modem

Apple may not be able to use its own 5G modem for the 2023 iPhone. Two recent reports suggest the iPhone maker encountered development and legal issues with the in-house 5G modem. 

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says his survey indicates Apple's 5G modem chip development may have failed and Qualcomm will still be the exclusive supplier of modem chips for the 2023 iPhones. Kuo expects Apple to continue developing its 5G modem chips, but the business impact on Qualcomm will be less significant as the chip maker would have grown its other businesses to offset the order loss. 

Foss Patents has another view on the matter. It believes the delay in development of Apple's 5G modem is due to legal issues over patents and licensing agreement with Qualcomm. If Apple wants to use its own 5G modem chip in the iPhone next year, it would inevitably infringe on two Qualcomm non-standard essential patents.

While Apple's current license agreement with Qualcomm will expire in 2025 or 2027, the two non-standard essential patents will expire only in 2029. If Apple decides to not renew the license agreement, it may face infringement lawsuits over the two patents. 

The likely outcome would be Apple renewing the license agreement and paying the fees so that it can deploy its own 5G modem chips.

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