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Apple will reportedly use its own 5G modems in iPhones coming out in 2023. According to a report in Nikkei, the company will partner with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to make this happen. It plans to use TSMC's 4nm process node, which the company hasn't deployed in commercial products. But it is supposedly being designed and tested at 5nm before entering mass production 2023 at 4nm.
The move has been expected to happen since Apple bought Intel's 5G modem division in 2019. Right now, Qualcomm is the one supplying Apple the modem components for its entire iPhone 13 lineup, but it expects to account for 20% of the iPhone modem orders in two years. TSMC supplies processors for all iPhone A-series devices and M1 systems-on-chip for Mac computers.
Nikkei also reports that hundreds of TSMC engineers are in Cupertino to work on Apple's chip development team. The 2022 iPhone SoCs will reportedly use TSMC's 4nm process, while some iPads will adopt 3nm processors in 2023. And the iPhone might make the 3nm jump "as soon as" next year.
Source: The Verge