iPhone 17 Pro models in 2025 will be equipped with an Apple-designed Wi-Fi 7 chip, according to Jeff Pu, an analyst who covers companies within Apple's supply chain.
In a research note this week with Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities, Pu said the chip could be a long-term threat to Broadcom, which currently supplies Apple with a combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip for iPhones.
Pu believes Apple will expand its in-house Wi-Fi chip to the entire iPhone 18 series in 2026. He did not share any additional details about the chip.
In January, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple was developing its own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip for use in devices starting in 2025. Later that month, however, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said it was a Wi-Fi-only chip and said Apple had paused development "for a while." It's unclear if development has resumed.
Like its long-rumored 5G modem for iPhones, the Wi-Fi chip would allow Apple to further reduce its dependance on external suppliers for components.
Wi-Fi 7 support would allow iPhone 17 Pro models to send and receive data over the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands simultaneously with a supported router, resulting in faster Wi-Fi speeds, lower latency, and more reliable connectivity. Wi-Fi 7 can provide peak speeds of over 40 Gbps, a 4× increase over Wi-Fi 6E, according to Qualcomm.
In August, Pu said the iPhone 16 Pro models launching next year would also feature Wi-Fi 7 support, but not with an Apple-designed chip.
