Apple learns from Huawei and develops its own 5G baseband? Guo Mingxuan: Two years to go

Metro signal circle, mall basement signal circle, home signal circle

It is believed that many Apple fans will not tolerate Apple's signal problem for a day or two. However, on September 7, Guo Mingxuan, an analyst of Tianfeng Securities, issued a briefing stating that Apple plans to use the self-developed 5G baseband on iPhone models from 2025.

According to Guo Mingxuan's previous prediction, Apple plans to first apply the 5G baseband chip developed by itself to the iPhone SE 4 released in 2024. If this deployment is successful, Apple will consider applying this technology to iPhones launched after 2025.

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Although the current iPhone is smooth and powerful, its signal quality is poor, and many "fans" complain: "Obviously, the price of the iPhone on hand is close to 10000 yuan, why can't it compete with the domestic phones of 1000 yuan or 2000 yuan in signal."

01. Apple, why is your signal bad?

When discussing why the iPhone signal is poor, let's give two examples: a friend with an iPhone may not receive a signal even at the elevator entrance before entering the elevator. The friends next door who use Android phones can continue to use them happily.

During this period, Huawei Mate 60 Pro was sold "hot", and quite a few netizens teased and said: "I don't want to change Huawei, because the cost is too high. When I eat on the first floor of the shopping mall, my friends' iPhone signals are circling, and Huawei has become a big enemy to pay the bill."

Although you may have considered this problem before purchasing iPhone. However, the problem of poor signal of Apple's mobile phone has always been Apple's "pain".

Many fans said that "the signal of the iPhone 14 Pro is still extremely poor even though the iPhone X has been changed to the iPhone 14 Pro". Some netizens responded in the way of reverse ridicule, saying that "the original and genuine iPhone is the one with poor signal, but not necessarily the one with good signal. Every minute, it is a refurbished machine".

So why is the iPhone's signal so bad? Let's explain it to you today.

In fact, regarding the problem of poor iPhone signal, some network experts have conducted very professional and rigorous tests for a long time, indicating that the Intel baseband chip is one of the reasons for the problem of poor iPhone signal.

In the iPhone X and the previous era, the Intel baseband became the only "backer". Although Intel's baseband meets Apple's design requirements, its performance is not as good as Qualcomm's.

However, with the iPhone 12 switching back to Qualcomm's baseband, the signal problem has not improved. Therefore, the real reason for the poor iPhone signal is probably the related design of the entire phone.

Apple has performed very well in software, but its accumulation in communication may be insufficient compared with Huawei's communication start. The design and hardware configuration of iPhone may be the root cause of poor signal. For example, its baseband chip is external, which may affect the signal performance.

In addition, of course, some netizens put forward different views. They believe that there are many reasons for the poor signal of Apple's mobile phones, one of which is that Apple sacrificed the antenna strength to pursue thin and light design, resulting in poor signal.

In addition, the iPhone body is also relatively closed, which may limit the design and performance of the antenna. Especially since the iPhone X, the signal of the Apple phone has become significantly worse, because the full screen body has become more compact and does not leave enough space for the antenna clearance area.

In addition, there may be some problems with the signal algorithm in iOS system. For example, in some cases, the iOS system may incorrectly estimate the signal strength, resulting in poor signals. For example, when Android phones display two bars of signals, Apple phones display four bars of signals.

However, domestic mobile phone manufacturers such as OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi, Huawei, Glory and other light and thin models can also maintain good signals, which indicates that Apple is not up to scratch in this regard.

Apple may also be very clear about the reason for the poor iPhone signal. It is reported that the technology of inserting RF antenna into the screen will be used to meet the signal antenna required by Wi Fi and cellular networks.

However, at present, this patented technology has not yet been fully implemented on the iPhone 14 series, otherwise there will be no problem of poor signal.

At present, Huawei has a set of self-developed communication solutions, which enables them to make overall optimization on the communication level to ensure strong signals. Huawei has even launched satellite communication on Mate 60 Pro. With the approach of September 13, The new iPhone 15 series is also coming out soon. We can't help but ask whether Apple will bring new changes in signal in this round of updates?

02. Apple: others can't rely on it, so they make "cores" themselves

Before iPhone 12, Intel provided a modem for Apple's iPhone to enable it to connect to the networks of operators such as Verizon and AT&T. However, since Intel announced its plan to withdraw from the smartphone modem market, Qualcomm has become a modem supplier for the new iPhone.

However, the signal problem has not been solved after changing the modem supplier. Apple has long wanted to get rid of the "psoriasis" of "signal difference", so Apple decided to roll up its sleeves and start its own production.

Since 2018, Apple has begun to plan its own modems, and in 2019, it acquired most of Intel's smart phone modem businesses to enhance relevant capabilities. It is reported that Apple paid $1 billion to acquire a majority stake in Intel's smartphone modem division, and will have about 2200 Intel employees join Apple, adding more capabilities to Apple's development in the field of signal technology.

"This agreement enables us to focus on developing 5G network technology while retaining the key intellectual property rights and modem technology created by our team," said Bob Swan, CEO of Intel. "We have always respected Apple, and we believe that they will provide a suitable environment for this talented team and these important assets. We look forward to devoting ourselves to 5G to make it best meet the needs of our global customer base, including network operators, telecommunications equipment manufacturers and cloud service providers."

Of course, Apple is full of confidence in the development of self-developed modems. They realize that this is not just a chip, but a key intellectual property with strategic significance, adding important strategic assets to Apple.

Apple has already started to develop its own 5G chipset, and the intellectual property rights obtained from Intel are crucial to this effort. Apple has gradually mastered more wireless technology patents, and has more than 17000 patents in the fields of cellular standard protocol, modem architecture and operation.

"We have worked with Intel for many years, and we know that this team, like Apple, is keen to design technologies that can bring world-class experience to our users," said Johny Srouji, senior vice president of Apple hardware technology. "Apple is very happy to have so many excellent engineers join our growing cellular network technology team, and believes that they will thrive in Apple's creative and dynamic environment. Their participation, coupled with our major acquisition of innovative intellectual property rights, will help speed up the development of our future products and promote Apple to further stand out in the future. ”

03. OFweek · Electronic Engineering Summary

However, Dae Jeong Yoon, a research specialist of UBI Research, and Blayne Curtis and Tom O'Malley, analysts of Barclays, believe that the 5G baseband chip developed by Apple itself is now facing obstacles and cannot meet Apple's expectations and cannot be launched in a short time.

The above analysts believe that Qualcomm may continue to be a modem supplier for new iPhones up to the 16 series.

On September 13, a week later, the iPhone 15 series will be launched. At present, it seems that Apple's "signal problem solved or not" still needs a strong "?".

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