A top Apple insider and analyst has revealed Apple’s new iPhone 16 Pro, slated for release in September of 2024, could feature Snapdragon’s latest X75 modem with more powerful 5G.
An analyst report from Jeff Pu at Haitong International Securities revealed that “the iPhone 16 Pro models will be equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X75 modem, according to a MacRumors report, Sunday.
First unveiled in February last year, the X75 is a powerful new modem that the company describes as “the world’s first Modem-RF System ready for 5G Advanced to drive the future of 5G in mobile and beyond.” Qualcomm’s sixth-generation modem-to-antenna 5G solution supplants the X70, which powers Apple’s best iPhone, the iPhone 15 Pro.
iPhone 16 Pro’s 5G upgrade
If this upgrade does make the cut, it will mean the iPhone 16 Pro should benefit from Qualcomm’s new 5G AI Suite, which uses artificial intelligence to optimize connectivity for “better speeds, coverage, mobility, link robustness, and location accuracy.”
Moreover, its newer architecture has a smaller hardware footprint, costs less, features a less complex design, and consumes less power. This is great news because more space inside your iPhone means more room for upgrades in other areas, such as the iPhone’s camera or battery. Even if the iPhone 16 Pro’s battery doesn’t get any bigger as a result, that efficiency will also ensure using 5G draws less power, prolonging your day-to-day battery life and its overall health.
Qualcomm says the X75 helps it deliver “unmatched data speeds, coverage, power efficiency and link robustness.” In August, the company revealed it had achieved a 7.5 Gbps downlink over the sub-6 GHz spectrum, a world record for 5G speeds, using this very modem. iPhone users won’t get those speeds, but they can look forward to a significant boost in 5G connectivity over the current lineup when the iPhone event rolls around in September. For years, Apple has been trying to ditch Qualcomm’s 5G modems in favor of its own in-house models, but has struggled to get to grips with the tech, signing a new multi-year deal with Qualcomm through 2026, indicating Apple’s chips are still years away — unless, of course, it throws in the towel altogether.
