Last month, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed Apple had cancelled its 2024 iPhone SE 4, based on his information obtained from supply chain sources.
Fast forward to today, Kuo now has reversed course and said, “Apple has restarted the iPhone SE 4 and will adopt an in-house 5G baseband chip.” Normally, Apple would be using Qualcomm baseband chips ahead of debuting its own chip. “The significant decline in Qualcomm’s Apple orders in the foreseeable future is a foregone conclusion,” added Kuo.
According to Kuo’s latest survey, he says the iPhone SE 4 will now feature an OLED display instead of an LCD, while the design will be a “minor modification of the 6.1-inch iPhone 14.”
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[Update] Apple has restarted the iPhone SE 4 and will adopt an in-house 5G baseband chip. The significant decline in Qualcomm's Apple orders in the foreseeable future is a foregone conclusion. https://t.co/0MeZDFnbzg— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) February 27, 2023
The in-house Apple 5G baseband chip will be produced by a 4nm process, similar to the company’s 5nm, but “will only support Sub-6GHz as the current plan.”
Kuo says it’s unclear if iPhone 16 series phones will use Apple’s in-house 5G baseband chip. “The main challenge lies in whether Apple can overcome the technical obstacles related to mmWave and satellite communications,” says Kuo.
The analyst says if iPhone SE 4 production “goes smoothly” in the first half of 2024, he believes the iPad and Apple Watch will also “soon abandon Qualcomm’s baseband chips, too.”
Implementing an in-house baseband chip, it will “benefit Apple’s hardware gross margin, while Qualcomm’s Apple business will decline significantly in the next 2-3 years,” concludes Kuo.
Similar to the evolution of Apple A-series chips and Apple Silicon, in-house baseband chips will further vertically integrate the iPhone maker’s supply chain.
Apple’s iPhone 15 designs have recently been allegedly leaked, showcasing new changes coming to this year’s lineup.
