Apple has been producing its own chips for its iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other products. The Bionic and M-series chips are produced by Apple in-house, but there’s one crucial component that the company still couldn’t produce on its own and had to rely on an external company.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is actively working towards incorporating its own custom modem into forthcoming cellular MacBook models, aiming for a potential release as early as 2028.
The company initiated modem development in 2018, seeking independence from Qualcomm’s components in iPhones.
Originally slated for a 2026 launch, the modem’s timeline has faced delays, and now, it is anticipated to be ready by 2026, with plans for integration into various Apple devices in the future.
According to Gurman, Apple’s ambitions involve integrating the in-house modem into its system-on-a-chip (SoC), paving the way for MacBooks with built-in cellular connectivity.
Gurman predicts that Apple will likely require an additional two or three years to extend this technology to cellular versions of the Apple Watch and iPad, eventually reaching the Mac lineup once the modem is seamlessly integrated into the company’s system-on-a-chip.
According to MacRumors, in the past, the company contemplated launching a MacBook Air with 3G connectivity, but former CEO Steve Jobs, in 2008, dismissed the idea due to concerns about space constraints within the case. The integration of an in-house system-on-a-chip is seen as a solution to this issue.
