Apple May Be Developing a Refreshed C1 Modem with mmWave Support

A refreshed version of Apple’s C1 modem is said to be in development which adds a key functionality missing from the current model, as per the claims by an industry analyst. Introduced with the iPhone 16e last month, the C1 is the Cupertino-based technology giant’s first-ever proprietary cellular modem which potentially reduces the company’s dependency on Qualcomm. However, it is not without its caveats. A glance at the iPhone 16e’s specifications reveals that the phone lacks mmWave support due to this modem, but that may soon change.

mmWave Support on Apple’s C1 Modem

According to TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, C1 modem’s architecture on the iPhone 16e comprises a 4nm or 5nm baseband, 7nm low-frequency transceivers, 7nm transreceivers for immediate frequency, and a 55nm Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC). It only supports up to sub-6GHz 5G.

Although the company claims C1 to be the “most power-efficient modem ever”, the lack of mmWave, which is the extremely high frequency (EHF) band, potentially results in slower download and upload speeds. To address this, Apple is said to be developing its successor. Kuo claims the refreshed version of the C1 modem is unlikely to adopt a 3nm baseband due to it not being the most power-hungry component in a modem.

To enable mmWave support, Apple is expected to add transreceivers and front-end components based on a 28nm node. The analyst emphasises that while adding mmWave support to this modem isn’t particularly a challenging process, balancing between a stable performance and low power consumption remains a hurdle.

While Kuo did not reveal which iPhone the new modem could be featured in, Apple was previously reported to also include the C1 modem in the purported iPhone 17 Air. If this phone gets the refreshed variant, users may be able to take advantage of the fastest possible download and upload 5G speeds courtesy of mmWave support, depending on the availability in the region.