Kuo: Apple plans to use its own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips made by TSMC's N7 process and with Wi-Fi 7 in the iPhone 17 lineup, reducing its reliance on Broadcom
Apple's big launches for 2024 are nearly complete, so reports are going to pick up regarding the 2025 product lineup.
Context & Ripple Effects
This report advances a multiyear effort: Apple was previously said to be developing a combined wireless chip to replace Broadcom components. It now puts a manufacturing process and Wi-Fi 7 target around that effort for the iPhone 17.
The reported iPhone move also fits a broader rollout path later described for Apple TV, HomePod mini, then iPads and Macs, beginning with wireless-chip deployments in home devices. That makes the iPhone a pivotal volume test rather than an isolated component swap.
First-order effects
- Apple would source the iPhone 17’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth silicon internally while relying on TSMC’s N7 process for fabrication, reducing Broadcom’s role in those radios.
- Wi-Fi 7 support would become part of the reported iPhone 17 wireless platform, tying the connectivity upgrade to Apple’s chip transition.
Second-order effects
- Broadcom faces a potential reduction in iPhone component demand, while TSMC gains another Apple-designed chip to manufacture if the plan reaches production.
- A successful iPhone implementation would strengthen Apple’s case for extending the same radio design across its device portfolio; later coverage points to in-house Wi-Fi chips across all iPhone 17 models.
Third-order effects
- If Apple can carry its wireless design across phones, home devices, tablets and Macs, supplier relationships could shift from buying finished radio components to buying foundry capacity for Apple-controlled designs.
- The pattern points toward deeper vertical integration in device connectivity, though execution remains consequential: radio chips must meet interoperability and power-performance requirements across multiple product categories.
The trend: This is one data point in Apple’s broader push to internalize key connectivity silicon while using TSMC as the manufacturing partner.