Apple’s first in-house cellular modem will reportedly start appearing in iPhones and iPads starting next year. The move, which kicks into action with the 2025 iPhone SE refresh, is aimed at helping Apple end its reliance on other suppliers for the part.
The shift, however, also frees up more wiggle room for its engineers to experiment with new designs. One of those could very well be the upcoming iPhone 17 Slim or Air model, which is poised to replace the “Plus” version in the current lineup.
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“By using its own modem, Apple is able to create a smartphone that’s about 2 millimeters thinner than an iPhone 16 Pro, while still having room for the battery, display and camera system,” says a Bloomberg report.
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The outlet also reported on the same day that the new slim iPhone 17 trim will be among the first to use the Apple-designed “Sinope” modem. This one offers 5G support, but skips on the faster mmWave flavor and is also inferior to Qualcomm’s modem on carrier aggregation metrics.
A render of the iPhone Air.
Alleged render of the iPhone 17 Air. Front Page Tech
Apple engineers are said to have bemoaned the amount of space taken by Qualcomm modems and other connected parts for years, prompting the company to explore in-house options.
The journey began with the acquisition of Intel’s smartphone modem division and then hiring from within Qualcomm’s ranks itself. Now, if the Bloomberg report is to be believed, Apple’s new iPhone variant could offer a thickness of just 6.25 millimeters.
For comparison, the thinnest smartphone Apple has launched so far is the iPhone 6, which only measures 6.9 millimeters across. Over in the Android world, the Honor Magic V3 foldable is just 4.4 millimeters thick in the open state. About a decade ago, the $199 Vivo Air launched in the US with a thickness of just 5.1 millimeters.
Now, the smartphone tech stack has matured a lot over the years in terms of capabilities, and to accommodate it, smartphone makers ditched the race for slimness to fit in bigger batteries, larger camera modules, and improved thermal hardware.
An iPhone 6S in gold held against a red pipe.
The iPhone 6 is the slimmest smartphone Apple has made so far. Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
With Apple getting back into the race, I am somewhat concerned about the sacrifices the company will have to make. Will MagSafe wireless charging stay? What about the heat management kit? Rumors already claim that it will only feature a single rear camera, so there’s that sacrifice to consider.
Also, let’s not forget the infamous “bendgate” that plagued the all-metal and sleek-as-ever iPhone 6 series. In the wake of sordid reports, Apple invited the media to take a look at the phone going through strength tests in its “reliability testing lab” in Cupertino. Of course, the whole fiasco also unleashed a flood of nasty jokes, as well.
Moreover, it’s no secret that thinner phones, especially those with sharp edges and flat sides, aren’t particularly comfortable to hold. I am not sure just what the marketing pitch is going to be for a slimmer iPhone 17 model, but I just hope it doesn’t cost a bomb and delivers a “meh” hardware package.