Apple Cancels 2024 iPhone SE 4, Qualcomm to Supply 5G Chip for iPhone 16 [Kuo]

Apple has allegedly cancelled plans to release a new iPhone SE 4 in 2024 making it likely that Qualcomm will remain the exclusive supplier of baseband chips for the iPhone 16, according to a new report from TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Although Apple acquired Intel's 5G modem business in 2019, it has so far failed to produce an in-house chip for mass production. Despite hints from Qualcomm that Apple could transition to its own chip in 2023, rumors suggest that it will not be ready.

Due to performance concerns, Apple was purportedly planning to test its baseband chip on the low-end iPhone SE 4 first. However, supply chain sources claim Apple has cancelled SE 4 production and shipment plans for 2024. Kuo believes this means Apple will no longer introduce its own baseband in 2024.


Due to concerns that the performance of the in-house baseband chip may not be up to par with Qualcomm's, Apple initially planned to launch its baseband chip in 2024 and let the low-end iPhone SE 4 adopt it first, and decide whether to let the iPhone 16 use its baseband chip depending on the development status of iPhone SE 4. However, the cancelation of the iPhone SE 4 has significantly increased the chances of Qualcomm remaining the exclusive supplier of baseband chips for the 2H24 new iPhone 16 series, which is better than the market consensus that Qualcomm will start losing iPhone orders in 2024.

Finally, Kuo says that Qualcomm will continue to dominate the global high-end mobile phone RF market in 2023 and 2024, weathering the impacts of an economic recession.

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