Why Apple’s New Chips are a Big Deal

everything in-house.

Author

Brandon Butch
December 13, 2024 • 📖 Read time: 13 minutes

In partnership with

Welcome back! 🍎
Here’s the latest with Apple.

  • Apple’s 5G chip is bigger than it seems

  • Round 2 of Apple Intelligence & delays iOS 19 features

  • Google’s new Vision Pro “Competitor”

  • & more!

📊 Poll

Last week, we asked: Would you upgrade your Mac’s storage if it were less expensive?

Here were my favorite replies:

Yes - “If Mac storage upgrades were more affordable, I'd jump at the opportunity. The convenience of having everything at my fingertips—photos, videos, work files—without worrying about running out of space would be a game changer. External drives and cloud subscriptions work, but they're just not the same as seamless, integrated storage. A reasonably priced upgrade would mean less hassle, more peace of mind, and ultimately, more productivity. Count me in.”

No - “All my work is in the cloud (UI designer), all my photos are in iCloud, and I don’t game on my Mac. So I don’t really use much storage.”

This week: Would you buy a cellular MacBook - one that didn’t rely on Wi-Fi? Why or why not? More on this below.

Would you buy a cellular MacBook?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

🗞️ The Latest

⚙️ Why Apple’s New Chips are a Big Deal

iFixit

Apple is planning to launch its first custom 5G modem in the Spring, and it’s a major step for the future of Apple products. Here’s why.

  • Apple will begin its journey to replace Qualcomm’s 5G modems as early as March, with the release of the iPhone SE 4.

  • This first-generation 5G modem will not support the fast mmWave technology, only Sub-6.

  • That’s 4 Gbps vs 10 Gbps, in terms of theoretical max download speeds.

  • However, real-world 5G data speeds are typically much slower than the maximum-rated speeds, so this could be a non-issue.

  • The modem will work with another new Apple component: an RFFE, or Radio Frequency Front-End System.

  • This RFFE will manage and optimize signals between the antenna and modem, ensuring clear communication, strong connections, and efficient performance.

  • This modem is expected to be included in the iPhone SE 4, iPad (11th Generation), and iPhone 17 Air.

What This Means for the Future

Apple

  • In 2026, Apple plans to launch its second-generation modem, which will be included in higher-end products, like the iPhone 18 lineup.

  • That second-generation modem will likely have mmWave, giving it faster download speeds.

  • And then in 2027, we’ll see the third-generation modem in the iPhone 19 lineup and the iPad Air/Pro.

  • This is where Apple is expected to surpass Qualcomm, thanks to its performance, artificial intelligence features, and support for next-generation satellite networks.

  • Apple is currently discussing the idea of a cellular Mac and cellular support for a future Vision Pro headset.

Another New Chip is Coming

  • Apple is also planning to use a new, in-house Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chip next year.

  • This Bluetooth + Wi-Fi chip will first appear in the iPhone 17 models, the next Apple TV, and the next-gen HomePod mini in 2025.

  • This will replace the current Broadcom components.

  • Eventually, Apple plans to combine this Bluetooth + Wi-Fi chip with the 5G modem chip for one single component.

My take: If you want a thinner phone, this is one of the top ways to get there: in-house, combined components.

These chips are also a big deal because they will lead to better performance, efficiency, and (hopefully) cost.

Eventually, Apple wants to produce every component within its products. This is just the beginning!

Together with The Rundown AI.

Stay up-to-date with AI

The Rundown is the most trusted AI newsletter in the world, with 800,000+ readers and exclusive interviews with AI leaders like Mark Zuckerberg.

Their expert research team spends all day learning what’s new in AI and talking with industry experts, then distills the most important developments into one free email every morning.

Plus, complete the quiz after signing up and they’ll recommend the best AI tools, guides, and courses – tailored to your needs.

🍎 iOS 18 is Already Ruining iOS 19

MacRumors

This week, iOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 were released with several important Apple Intelligence (and non-AI) features. Here are the highlights:

  • Genmoji for creating custom emojis and Image Playground for creating original images based on photos (or from scratch).

  • ChatGPT support for answering questions that Siri can’t answer, referencing files/photos, generating images, and creating content based on prompts.

  • Redesigned Mail app with categorization, digest view, and more. This is missing from macOS for some reason.

  • Podcast categories and favorites.

  • A beautiful macOS weather widget in the menu bar.

  • I covered everything in these videos: iOS 18.2, macOS 15.2, Apple Intelligence features.

In related news:

  • Apple published a fun new ad for the Genmoji feature.

  • They also posted a cool video showing how Michael Bublé uses the iPhone 16 Pro and the new layering feature in Voice Memos.

iOS 19 Features Delayed

  • The slow, gradual rollout of Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18 is apparently causing delays for some of the features scheduled for iOS 19.

  • The rollout of features, which is expected to continue until April with iOS 18.4, will lead to a long-term rollout of features in iOS 19 as well.

  • Gurman says: “Engineers are stuck working on iOS 18 projects when they’d usually already be on to the following OS.”

My take: This is not something you typically see from Apple and it does have me a bit concerned. I’m anticipating round 2 of the “Why announce the new iPhone if the Apple Intelligence features aren’t ready yet?” posts.

Anyway, for now, I’m satisfied with the iOS 18.2 Apple Intelligence features. I think that ChatGPT and Visual Intelligence will prove to be useful long-term.

🥽 The New Vision Pro “Competitor”

Project Moohan/Samsung

This week, Google debuted its operating system for future mixed reality headsets. Here are the details.

  • Google teamed up with Samsung to launch Android XR, a new operating system that will run on Google’s upcoming mixed reality headsets and smart glasses in 2025.

  • The first headset will be designed by Samsung and launch in 2025. And boy does that [official] render look awfully similar to the Vision Pro!

  • However, early demos of the product seem more positive than Vision Pro. This is mainly due to the lightweight build and fluid software.

  • The headset will also have environments (like the Vision Pro), where you can choose between full immersion and being present in the real world.

  • This Android XR software will include Google Gemini support. Meanwhile, the Vision Pro still doesn’t have Apple Intelligence support.

  • Mobile apps from Google Play will also work right out of the box, with more apps, games and immersive content made for XR arriving next year.

  • Instant app support is a big deal since there still aren’t many visionOS apps, almost a full year later.

  • Android XR will also support smart glasses for “all-day help” in the form of one-tap access to Google Gemini for tasks like directions, translations, or message summaries.

  • Google has provided a preview of Android XR for developers, allowing them to start building apps and games for future Android XR devices.

My take: While Meta is focused on gaming, Samsung/Google seem to be following the same route as Apple with the spatial computing focus.

To me, that makes their upcoming headset the closest “competitor” to the Apple Vision Pro.

It’s still early and we don’t know the specs, but we have heard that it’s going to be much lighter and cheaper than the Vision Pro, which are both key selling points.

I’m excited to see what comes of this and how it will (hopefully) push Apple to keep innovating!

📰 Quick Bites

🎨 Set Wallpaper

If you can’t see the wallpaper below, just sign in. It’s only available to free subscribers.

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.

Become a paying subscriber of Premium to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.

Already a paying subscriber? Sign In.

A subscription gets you:

  • • 50% off all wallpaper collections
  • • Access to private Discord
  • • Bonus weekly wallpaper
  • • Q&A section

Reply

or to participate.