While the iPhone Air is equipped with Apple’s custom C1X modem for cellular connectivity, all of the iPhone 17 models are outfitted with Qualcomm modems still.
A teardown shared on Chinese platform Bilibili today (via Reddit) appears to confirm the iPhone 17 Pro Max is equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X80 modem in particular. The same modem is likely used in the iPhone 17 Pro and the regular iPhone 17.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X80 modem supports mmWave 5G, which is available on iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models sold in the U.S. only. Apple’s C1 modem in the iPhone 16e and C1X modem in the iPhone Air are limited to sub-6GHz 5G.
mmWave is a set of 5G frequencies that promise ultra-fast speeds at short distances, which is ideal for dense urban areas. By comparison, sub-6GHz 5G is generally slower than mmWave, but the signals travel further, better serving suburban and rural areas.
iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to use Apple’s custom C2 modem, with mmWave 5G support.
This article, "iPhone 17 Pro Max Teardown Reveals Qualcomm's Snapdragon X80 Modem for 5G" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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