Will Apple make a new router?
Ryan Christoffel from 9to5Mac:
Apple is reportedly moving away from using Broadcom’s combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips in its devices.
The replacement? Apple’s own in-house solution.
The company will start using its own Wi-Fi chip across a wide range of devices.
In 2025 that means:
● iPhone 17
● new Apple TV
● new HomePod mini
● and likely the HomePad too
Then in 2026, iPads and Macs will adopt the new chip as well.
Apple’s goal is to develop an end-to-end wireless approach that is tightly integrated with its other components and more energy-efficient…With a homegrown wireless chip in Apple’s smart home devices, the products will work more closely together and potentially synchronize data more quickly
Apple controlling the Wi-Fi chips in its devices, combined with its renewed ambitions for home devices, sparks fresh hope for a new AirPort router to appear.
This only makes sense.
Apple is taking their vertical integration to the next level, and they have been hugely successful with the M-line of chips for the Mac. One could argue the M line of chips saved the Mac.
Why have all these wireless services working together, only to have the heart of the system controlled by a 3rd party manufacturer?
Apple’s services industry is on a rapid incline, and having their own wireless infrastructure in each home, once again, just makes sense.