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iPhone 17 Pro Max Teardown Reveals Qualcomm's Snapdragon X80 Modem for 5G

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While the iPhone Air is equipped with Apple's custom C1X modem for cellular connectivity, all of the iPhone 17 models are outfitted with Qualcomm modems still.

iPhone 17 Pro Colors
A teardown video shared on Chinese platform Bilibili today (via Reddit) appears to confirm the iPhone 17 Pro Max is equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X80 modem in particular. The same modem is likely used in the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro.

Qualcomm says the Snapdragon X80 contains AI accelerator hardware that intelligently enhances cellular data speeds, latency, coverage, and power efficiency.

In addition, the Snapdragon X80 modem supports mmWave 5G, which is available on iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models sold in the U.S. only. Apple's C1 modem in the iPhone 16e and C1X modem in the iPhone Air are limited to sub-6GHz 5G.

mmWave is a set of 5G frequencies that promise ultra-fast speeds at short distances, which is ideal for dense urban areas. By comparison, sub-6GHz 5G is generally slower than mmWave, but the signals travel further, better serving suburban and rural areas.

iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to use Apple's custom C2 modem, with mmWave 5G support, as Apple continues to phase out Qualcomm modems.

The Snapdragon X80 is already outdated. Qualcomm has since unveiled its Snapdragon X85 modem, and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said Android smartphones using it would have a "huge delta" in performance compared to iPhones.

We are still waiting for Snapdragon X80 vs. C1X speed tests.

Related Roundups: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro
Tags: Qualcomm, Teardown
Buyer's Guide: iPhone 17 (Neutral), iPhone 17 Pro (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

T
TechieGeek
11 months ago
Wish there were benchmarks on the latency / ability to hold onto a weak signal in subway or elevator / speed to reconnect to cellular between stations, etc.

I really wish the reviewers did tests like this. This stuff matters.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Moukee Avatar
Moukee
11 months ago

Qualcomm says the Snapdragon X80 contains AI accelerator hardware that intelligently enhances cellular data speeds, latency, coverage, and power efficiency.
AI in the modem increases cell tower coverage. Sure.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
falainber Avatar
falainber
11 months ago

AI in the modem increases cell tower coverage. Sure.
If AI helps picking up weak signal, it does increase coverage (for the phones equipped by such modems).
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Andres Cantu Avatar
Andres Cantu
11 months ago
It might be the case that next year, once the Pro lineup gets the C modems, the battery life will jump once again due to the efficiencies gained. It will make the battery difference between the Air and Pro larger.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aperfectcircle Avatar
aperfectcircle
11 months ago

Glad to see! No doubt the C-series modems are far better than the old Intel modems in the pre-iPhone 12 phones, but I’ll still gladly skip all products that have the first few iterations of them.
I have no idea what Qualcomm modem is in my 14PM, but the C1X is my Air is delivering improved signal strength and speed over it. I live in a 31st floor apartment and have two eSIMs with different providers here. One would usually sit between 3-4 bars and the other 1-2 bars on the 14PM. Both now show solid 4 bar signal and are delivering better performance with web page loading and apps like Instagram and Facebook. I didn’t think to run speed tests prior to transferring the SIMs across so the speed experience is very much what I’m perceiving.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zaydax333 Avatar
Zaydax333
11 months ago
IIRC the 15 series had the x70 and the 16 series had the x71 (while the x75 was the latest) so this is a 2 generation leap forward in one year technically.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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