Apple is set to further its self-reliance in chip manufacturing by developing its own Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chips. This strategic move will reduce the company’s dependence on third-party suppliers like Broadcom, starting from next year.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
The chip, code-named Proxima, has been in development for several years and is now slated to go into the first products in 2025, according to people familiar with the matter. Like Apple’s other in-house chips, Proxima will be produced by partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
The transition is separate from Apple’s highly anticipated shift from Qualcomm Inc. cellular modems — details of which Bloomberg News reported last week — but the two parts will eventually work together.
Apple’s goal is to develop an end-to-end wireless approach that is tightly integrated with its other components and more energy-efficient, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the initiative hasn’t been announced.
Apple is one of Broadcom’s biggest customers, accounting for roughly 20% of revenue.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple will begin rolling out the combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip as part of new home devices scheduled for next year, including refreshed versions of its TV set-top box and HomePod mini smart speaker, Gurman reports. The company is focused on bringing the component to iPhones in 2025 and to the iPad and Mac by 2026.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
The post Apple nears switch to in-house Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chip appeared first on MacDailyNews.
