Apple Says iPhone 16e's New C1 Modem is Just the 'Start' in Interview

[MacRumors]

Apple's new C1 modem in the iPhone 16e is just the "start," according to the company's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji.

"C1 is the start," said Srouji, in an interview with Reuters. "We're going to keep improving that technology each generation, so that it becomes a platform for us that will be used to truly differentiate this technology for our products."

Apple confirmed to Reuters that it plans to use its own cellular modems across more products in the coming years. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said the iPhone 17 Air will also be equipped with the C1 modem.

Apple's in-house modem will allow it to reduce its reliance on Qualcomm, the current supplier of modems for other iPhone models.

Qualcomm expects its share of iPhone modems to drop to as low as 20% by next year.

The C1 modem is manufactured with a 4-nanometer process, and its transceiver is manufactured with a 7-nanometer process, according to Srouji. He said the modem is the most complex technology that Apple has ever built, and it was tested with 180 carriers in 55 countries to ensure reliability for core functionality like phone calls and mobile data.

We are still waiting for C1 modem speed tests.

Srouji said Apple's goal with the C1 modem was not to match the sheer performance or specifications of rival modems, like those from Qualcomm. While the C1 modem might not provide the fastest 5G speeds possible, and lacks mmWave support, Apple says it is the most power-efficient modem ever on an iPhone, contributing to the iPhone 16e having the longest battery life of any 6.1-inch iPhone ever. As expected, the modem has tight integration with the iPhone 16e's software and hardware, including the A18 chip.

"I believe we're building something truly differentiating," said Srouji.

Article Link: Apple Says iPhone 16e's New C1 Modem is Just the 'Start' in Interview

 

[gigapocket1]

Modem, processor, and all connections in 1…. Coming soon

 

[t0rqx]

There you have it. They still need to test modem speeds but its already on sale. Thanks beta users.

 

[Falhófnir]

Hopefully they can become as proficient with this as they are with the A series SoCs, the 16e battery life is already looking quite good!

 

[klasma]

Well yeah, otherwise they would have called it Cfinal.

 

[GMShadow]

So I'm curious - one reason Apple's existing modems are a bit less efficient is they're not on the SoC die the way they'd be if they were using a Snapdragon.

Is the C1 on the 16e's A18 (which is already a unique binned version), or is it still separate on the logic board with plans to integrate later?

 

[mansplains]

Hopefully not the start of worse performance. I'm optimistic!

 

[meaty]

Really disappointed with this phone, I guess I had really high hopes

 

[thefrost]

Good luck to Apple.

 

[Artemiz]

They should've started the 16E at $499 considering there's no mmWave or MagSafe. That'd be just and would've driven more sales which would in turn give them more data into performance of the C1.

 

[green_diyos]

There you have it. They still need to test modem speeds but its already on sale. Thanks beta users.

Reminds of the 2007 iPhone that was 2G only.

It was a developer's platform that happened to appeal to early adopters.

That's why its rollout was limited to the US and other markets with major PC & Mac developers.

The 2008 iPhone 3G was the 1st really consumer-grade phone. This also gave carriers time to upgrade their 3G network when 2G got overwhelmed by the iPhone.

 

[Kylo83]

I wish they spend more time in the video they made talking about it, it’s the only new and interesting thing about the new 6E

 

[Jumpthesnark]

Is the C1 on the 16e's A18 (which is already a unique binned version), or is it still separate on the logic board with plans to integrate later?

From the Reuters piece: "The chips are part of a new collection of components Apple calls the C1 subsystem. A subsystem houses key components like processors and memory." They didn't go into it much beyond that, but from the description and the images I've seen, it's a separate component on the logic board.

 

[kamyk35]

They should've started the 16E at $499 considering there's no mmWave or MagSafe. That'd be just and would've driven more sales which would in turn give them more data into performance of the C1.

At that price, I would have bought it for our son, but at $599 there's too much missing compared to the 16, which is what I will get him now.
The C1 modem is the least of my concerns, mmWave is US only, with very limited availability, as far as the speeds are concerned, it's not what the buyers of the 16e will be concerned with, the lack MagSafe, screen brightness, Dynamic Island and other camera features, is what concerns me.

 

[citysnaps]

A big hat-tip to Johny Srouji. He's hugely responsible for Apple's massive success.

 

[Techwatcher]

“Longest battery life of any 6.1 inch iPhone” when the accolades become that specific then it’s not really an accolade.

 

[TVreporter]

“Srouji said Apple's goal with the C1 modem was not to match the sheer performance or specifications of rival modems, like those from Qualcomm.”

Aka Tim told us to make it cheaper to balloon those profit margins!!

 

[kalafalas]

Efficiency and low-signal performance is much more important to me than maximum speed. I am excited to see the tests when it comes out!

 

[aevan]

There you have it. They still need to test modem speeds but its already on sale. Thanks beta users.

I was a beta user of the M1 Pro chip, and I couldn’t have been happier for it.

 

[currocj]

Last time I had an apple built modem in my iPhone I hated it

 

[Slix]

I'm planning to get this phone. Anyone who is complaining about the alleged "slower speeds" is probably missing the point that a large chunk of people getting this phone will likely be people like me, who never had an iPhone with 5G, or people who had an SE or something with lesser 5G than the 16 anyway.

Meanwhile, I don't use mobile data enough to notice a speed issue most of the time anyway.

 

[kalafalas]

At that price, I would have bought it for our son, but at $599 there's too much missing compared to the 16, which is what I will get him now.
The C1 modem is the least of my concerns, mmWave is US only, with very limited availability, as far as the speeds are concerned, it's not what the buyers of the 16e will be concerned with, the lack MagSafe, screen brightness, Dynamic Island and other camera features, is what concerns me.

And this is why it’s priced the way it is. To get people in the door, and then walk out with a more expensive model.

 

[xxray]

I’m sure the C1 is more efficient, but it’s irresponsible to keep reporting the C1 to be the main contributor to better battery life on the 16E when there has been no information released on battery capacity. The battery capacity could’ve just increased 15%.

 

[JPack]

Good PR statement by Johny to set the expectations.

When was the last time Apple had an interview with Reuters? Clearly, Apple wanted to push out the message as broad an audience worldwide to not expect much in terms of performance or features compared to Qualcomm.

 

[racerhomie]

So I'm curious - one reason Apple's existing modems are a bit less efficient is they're not on the SoC die the way they'd be if they were using a Snapdragon.

Is the C1 on the 16e's A18 (which is already a unique binned version), or is it still separate on the logic board with plans to integrate later?

That is the vision over a longer period of time. Right now it’s still C1 & A18.