With iOS 26.3, Apple is rolling out a new feature that lets you limit the information that cellular networks can use to determine your location. The twist, however, is that the feature is only supported on devices powered by Apple’s in-house modem.
I think what’s more interesting than this specific feature itself is what it represents for the future.
For the majority of the iPhone’s lifetime, Apple has used cellular modems from Qualcomm (as well as a brief tryst with Intel).
In recent years, however, Apple has been working on its own in-house modem hardware. The first iPhone powered by an Apple modem was the iPhone 16e, which launched with the C1 chip last February.
The iPhone Air followed suit with the C1X modem last September, followed shortly thereafter by the M5 iPad Pro.
There are business reasons for Apple’s move away from Qualcomm. To put it plainly, the two companies just don’t get along. Apple sued Qualcomm for $1 billion in 2017, but the two companies settled the same day the trial began in 2019.
As an iPhone user, however, it’s useful to look beyond those business reasons. What does Apple moving to its own modems mean for you? I think iOS 26.3 is a great starting point to answer that question.
I do want to clarify that Apple moving from Qualcomm to in-house chips isn’t remotely as big of a deal as when it moved from Intel to Apple Silicon in the Mac. Still, many of the same benefits apply.
Apple has full control over its hardware and is less burdened by the timeline and restrictions imposed by Qualcomm. It can meticulously integrate modem hardware with its software.
That’s what I think is so important about the new “limit precise location” feature in iOS 26.3.
The feature itself is nice. Anything that lets me share less information with my carrier (or anyone else, really) is a win. But what excites me most is seeing the first obvious user-facing feature enabled by Apple owning the modem hardware in the iPhone for the first time.
It’s the first feature exclusive to Apple devices with an Apple modem. My belief is that there are many more features to come. It’s hard to predict what those features will be, but I trust Apple has some ideas. There are also just basic improvements that using in-house modems enables, like battery life and better connectivity efficiency.
As of right now, Apple only sells three devices with its own modem: the iPhone 16e, iPhone Air, and M5 iPad Pro. Other iPhone models, such as the iPhone 17 Pro, still use a modem from Qualcomm. That, however, is expectedto change next year with the iPhone 18 Pro.
Once Apple’s entire iPhone lineup is using in-house modems is when I think the new features and improvements will start to roll out in earnest.
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