Apple’s first 5G-capable iPhones, reportedly due out in the latter half of 2020, will come equipped with Qualcomm’s X55 5G modem, sources familiar with the matter tell the Nikkei Asian Review (paywalled, via The Verge).
Qualcomm unveiled its second-gen Snapdragon X55 5G modem, which it claims is 40 percent faster than its predecessor, back in February just ahead of the annual Mobile World Congress convention in Barcelona. The announcement came while Apple and Qualcomm were still at odds but in the months to follow, the two decided to set their differences aside and drop all patent litigation worldwide.
The X55 chip offers 7Gb/s peak download speeds and 3Gb/s upload speeds, though these numbers are theoretical maximums and actual speeds will depend on carrier network. The chip is Qualcomm’s first 5G chip that supports all major frequency bands, operation modes, and network deployments.
The X55 is also more power efficient than Qualcomm’s X50 chip, which means it will draw less energy and will have less of an impact on battery life when connected to a 5G network.
Apple was originally planning to use Intel chips in its 2020 5G iPhones, but Intel is out of the smartphone chip business and Apple has no choice but to use Qualcomm’s modem chips.
The Qualcomm modem will reportedly be paired with the next generation of Apple’s own SoC, likely to be called the A14 Bionic. Sources say this will be Apple’s first chip built on a 5-nanometer manufacturing process. Apple has used a 7nm process since it debuted the A12 Bionic in the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR in 2018.
