Last week, Apple introduced its most advanced cellular modem: the C2 modem, and it’s available on both the iPhone 18 Pro Max and the iPhone Duo; however, not all variants of these models are created equal, as we reported that the iPhone 18 Pro Max sold in the U.S. is apparently skipping the C2 modem in favor of Qualcomm. This could be due to an ongoing agreement that Apple will buy modems from Qualcomm for its iPhones from 2023 to 2026, and putting a Qualcomm modem into the U.S. variant of the iPhone 18 Pro Max is the minimal way to honor that agreement.
We now have more details on what modem this specific variant uses, as it has been confirmed by TechInsights‘ teardown that the U.S. variant of that model features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X80 modem. TechInsights additionally stated that that variant has a newly identified mmWave 5G antenna module from Apple. The ultra-fast mmWave 5G has been on iPhone models since the iPhone 12 series, but most notably, Apple’s C2 modem is the first to support this kind of technology. I wouldn’t be surprised if all iPhone models introduced next year would feature Apple’s modems worldwide.
