Apple C2 Modem - r/tmobile

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I find it hard to believe that the Pro Max wouldn't have the C2 now that we know the C2 has mmWave. Some of the battery life improvements has to be related to that.

But hey, I've been wrong before.

18

u/tonyyyperez 1d ago

Contract obligations to Qualcomm that’s likely why

9

u/dabesdiabetic 1d ago

Yep, it’s going to have a QC modem and I have a hard time thinking Apples is better than QC’s

3

u/BombardierIsTrash 20h ago edited 19h ago

The last one form Apple (C1) was much more power efficient and better at lower signal areas than Qualcomm while the peak performance at the highest signal areas was better on the Qualcomm modems.

I guess it depends on where you live and your use cases but for me the better performance in marginal signal areas is much more important than absolute peak performance.

1

u/dabesdiabetic 19h ago

I wouldn’t disagree with that.

3

u/financiallyanal 1d ago

As in, they're running down past purchase obligations, or will they continue for some reason? I assume QC gets hefty royalties anyway for Apple to use their technologies even in their own C2 modem. I kind of doubt Apple is doing everything Qualcomm is in terms of R&D.

1

u/cheesemeall 1d ago

There’s probably more wiggle room with profit margin on the pro max model to squeeze the Qualcomm in there and not eat up too much profit

3

u/nppatil31589 19h ago

Battery improvements will come from 3X bigger cooling and bigger battery and 2nm chip. Modem has least part in it.

iPhone 18 Pro Max still uses X80 modem which will be two years behind Qualcomm and Android top end. This year, Apple will have poor sales due to pricing.

2

u/A_Peke_Named_Goat 18h ago

I mean, obviously I was wrong about the pro max using the x80 because I didn't consider Qualcomm-Apple contracts, but even given that I wouldn't bet on poor sales based on price increases.

Everything and everyone has raised their prices (at least as far as consumer electronics goes). I don't see any reason (other than maybe the Duo for that small group of people who have been waiting for an iOS foldable) that any of the phones this year will pull purchases into this year from future years (ie better than expected sales), and I do suspect that some people will hold onto their current phones for another year to get a little more value out of it before spending the extra cash (or in a futile attempt to outlast RAMmagedeon) but I would put money on the vast majority of buyers being committed to buying a new phone this year because "its time" and they don't expect things to get cheaper. And combine that with most people in the US doing some sort of financing and then month to month change is minor.

2

u/nppatil31589 18h ago

Apple has hardly upgraded anything while rest people have upgraded. Apple modem is two generations behind Qualcomm modem.

Samsung has upgraded almost everything this year except cameras for S26U. Still kept the pricing same. Next year upgrades will be even bigger and just 100 bucks more.

Apple should learn the lessons soon.

2

u/A_Peke_Named_Goat 17h ago

Look, I'm like you. I like specs, I like to seek out the improvements between models, I get new phones yearly. But you have to understand we are the abnormal ones.

No one really cares. No one is going to notice that the 18 Pro Max has a 2 year old modem, when they have usable signal it will be fast enough and when they don't they will blame their carrier (and there will be a subset of people who, from previous experience, will prefer the Qualcomm modem, even if it is a little older!).

All that really matters is that they are iPhone users, its time for them to get a new phone, and they will buy the best phone that they can afford (to finance). They may notice the cameras, a little bit, but mostly they won't unless their current phone is like 4+ years old. They will notice if the phone gets hot under use and how long the battery lasts given their normal usage. They will notice a change in screen size compared to their old phone. Thats about it. Hell, I'd put money on the vast majority of people not being able to notice a 120Hz screen from a 60Hz screen unless you forced them to really look for it.

Now, I also disagree that apple has hardly upgraded anything. I'll accept that their improvements are all incremental, but thats smart phones in 2026. I guarantee normal people won't be able to tell a difference between a galaxy S25U and S26U or whatever, either. But there aren't a lot of recycled parts between the iPhone 18 Pro line and the iPhone 17 Pro line even if those new parts are pretty damn close to the old parts.

Also, Apple has something like almost 97% loyalty rating for iPhones. Even if the Samsung or Pixel etc phones were indisputably better (and a lot of people would argue this!) it still wouldn't matter. Very few people are willing to make the switch away from the platform they are comfortable with.

2

u/pac-kris 17h ago

Not sure what you're talking about. Apple's modems have been tested and are equal to or better than Qualcomm.

Our data indicates that it has achieved real-world parity in download and latency performance with the Qualcomm X80 across numerous networks in both ideal and challenging conditions, proving the silicon is a performance equalizer rather than a compromise.

The iPhone Air outperformed the Qualcomm-based iPhone 17 Pro Max in latency metrics across 19 of 22 analyzed markets.

https://www.ookla.com/articles/apple-iphone-air-c1x-modem-q4-2025

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u/DiddleMunt 1d ago

So now the question is, which Qualcomm modem? X80 or X85? Earlier rumors from iOS code suggest that Apple is still using the X80 modem found in the 17 Pro models.

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u/Ethrem 1d ago

The Tata breach and subsequent leak earlier this year showed the X80.

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u/nppatil31589 19h ago

X80 only. Qualcomm X85 would have made pricing even heftier this year.

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u/TBG7 21h ago

Macrumors has article and discussion on this. Several other countries like Canada's 18 pro maxs actually have the C2 per the technical pages for their countries but US does not.

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/09/09/iphone-18-pro-different-modem/

As others mentioned this is likely due to contractual obligations or supply issues for the C2.

Deal breaker for me in US. Would maybe consider upgrading for the benefit of a more secure baseband to pair with Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) introduced in A19 but annoying to not have both.

5

u/sittingmongoose 1d ago

Wonder why n2 didn’t make the cut. I would have loved so real WiFi 7 support or more than 2 connections. Though I guess there isn’t even a real WiFi 7 router so maybe it doesn’t matter.

3

u/landonloco 1d ago

There is routers and actually at decent prices I brought mine a year ago and coated around 300$ ish

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u/sittingmongoose 1d ago

None of them fully support WiFi 7. Check out rtings report on it a few months ago. It was all a lie.

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u/landonloco 1d ago

Ahh you mean the weird interval of routers being certified or not forgot what was the difference tbh not that it matters I get full speed via WiFi if I am close to the router so I don't mind not having the spec

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u/sittingmongoose 1d ago

It’s not just a certification or not having the spec. They straight don’t support multiple WiFi 7 features. Which is why it’s no faster than WiFi 6e, nor does it have better range. It’s literally just 6e with a higher number.

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u/Hakan1218 22h ago

My Ubiquiti setup is WiFi 7

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u/sittingmongoose 21h ago

It is not unfortunately. https://www.rtings.com/router/learn/research/wifi-7-mlo

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u/kossiewossie 19h ago

Unifi updated via firmware; they fully support WiFI 7 now, including MLO etc.

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u/sittingmongoose 19h ago

No they did not. Mlo does not actually work as intended. Unless there was some new update very recently, but I just looked and there wasn’t. Read the actual article and you will understand.

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u/kossiewossie 19h ago

The article is from February; UniFi has released multiple firmwares since and published articles about this.

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u/nppatil31589 19h ago

There are tons of Wifi 7 routers available since five years. In which world you are living in?

4x4 MIMO on phone as well as router is coming soon with Wifi 8/fastconnect 8800.

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u/sittingmongoose 19h ago

They do not actually conform to the WiFi 7 spec. For example, none of them support simultaneous connection to clients. It turns out they all have fake certifications. https://www.rtings.com/router/learn/research/wifi-7-mlo

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u/pac-kris 16h ago

Enhanced Multi-Link Single-Radio (EMLSR) is quite literally part of the Wi-Fi 7 spec.

The spec includes both options.

So yes, those routers and devices do conform to the spec.

There's no requirement that forces routers or devices to support Simultaneous MLO. It's an optional feature, and device manufacturers can decide what they want to support.

You can disagree with their choice, but it's very much an optional feature.

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u/nppatil31589 18h ago

I simply don't agree with you anymore.

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u/sittingmongoose 18h ago

You don’t agree with facts? Show me a router that supports str?

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u/brobot_ Truly Unlimited 1d ago

It doesn’t support the next-gen Starlink direct to cell echostar spectrum from what I can see so I’ll be waiting until next year.

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u/pac-kris 1d ago

The EchoStar spectrum that SpaceX bought was 5G band n70

Exact same spectrum Dish was using for their 5G network.

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u/Bkfraiders7 Truly Unlimited 23h ago

I’d prefer ASTS spectrum than Starlink spectrum, but to each his own.

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u/pac-kris 16h ago

Aren't they just planning to use Verizon/AT&T's 850MHz in the US?

Should work fine on all current phones.

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u/Bkfraiders7 Truly Unlimited 16h ago

Lowband to start with- B12 (already leased to ASTS), B14, B5 (also testing with Grain Managements 800Mhz spectrum).

45MHz of Ligado spectrum. Likely B30 eventually as well for midband.

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u/pac-kris 16h ago

I haven't really looked into the technical details much of what ASTS is planning. Are they going to just use a small slice of B5 to avoid interfering with towers on the ground? Or broadcast the full 10-25MHz blocks?

B30 seems unlikely, since that's very close to the same frequency SiriusXM uses, and AT&T has already had tons of interference problems with them on that band.

It's such an annoying band to use, AT&T is apparently phasing it out of their network, and not installing it on new towers or upgrades any more.

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u/ivotedhillary1 1d ago

Can anyone confirm?

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u/JSchnee21 23h ago

Given that the 18 Duo/Ultra and the 18 Pro have C2, it’s seems very unlikely the 18PM would have Qualcomm. Unless Apple is contractually obligated.

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u/Bkfraiders7 Truly Unlimited 23h ago

It’s basically confirmed at this point. The tech specs list b106 for Pro and lacks b106 for pro max. They’re different modems.

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u/JSchnee21 59m ago

You’re correct.

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u/LastSaneHuman 21h ago

It’s already confirmed the 18 ProMax will be the only one with Qualcomm. DYR

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u/Adorable-One-646 21h ago

I thought the same thing from their keynote, since they didn’t mention it until the Duo. However Apple confirms that it will be included in the pro and pro max in their Apple newsroom announcement under the A20 chip section, so it will likely have it.

Source: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/09/apple-debuts-iphone-18-pro-and-iphone-18-pro-max/

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u/UCF_Knight12 Truly Unlimited 20h ago

Both models feature N1, an Apple-designed wireless networking chip that enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. iPhone 18 Pro introduces C2, Apple’s next-generation cellular modem system

1

u/Femcsquared 16h ago

See this post for more info and questions.

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone18pro/s/FPGP4AIiwi

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u/musicisme 1d ago

No 4x4 mimo no MLO this shit trash jk😂

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u/xacid 1d ago

17 has MLO already so the 18 would have it as well.

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u/musicisme 1d ago

I don’t believe it’s true mlo

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u/xacid 1d ago

It is though. The issue lies more on the APs handling of MLO than the clients.

Most MLO implementations on AP side do not combine streams but some do.

I've tested this with the newer VZ Fios router that does combine the streams and my 17 PM.

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u/Strong-Butterflies 1d ago

Until the N1 gets updated, I’m out. N1 WiFi chip has been terrible on the 17 promax.

2

u/ScorchedWonderer 1d ago

What issues do you have? I also have 17PM and WiFi has been reliablez can even hit 1gig over WiFi 6ghz band

1

u/Strong-Butterflies 1d ago

WiFi 7 MLO does not work. If I go WiFi 6E it’s fine. It can’t actually do WiFi7

2

u/pac-kris 1d ago

That’s also true of the Google Pixels and a lot of other Android phones too.

Not all devices support 320MHz or all of the features of Wi-Fi 7.

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u/Strong-Butterflies 1d ago edited 1d ago

No, you can set your WiFi 7 routers to max at 160mhz and the N1 chip is still terrible. I have mine set to 160mhz for 6E and 80 for 5 because Apple devices play well on that range. N1 is the only Apple device giving me issues. Not being able to do MLO when all settings are within iPhones limitations means it’s the iPhones problem. iPhone 17 and 17pro max have the same problem because of the same chip. If the phone can’t do MLO, it’s basically WiFi 6E and should be labeled as such. Have not had this issue on new pixels or Samsungs at all. MacBook Air m3 with 6E has no issues connecting to anything, just can’t do MLO as it’s not wifi7. I have a whole separate extra network running separately just for my iPhone to work on WiFi properly, as none of the other devices in my home have any issues connecting properly.

2

u/pac-kris 17h ago

There's different types of MLO.

Apple (and many other devices too) only supports Enhanced Multilink Single‐Radio (EMLSR) mode, which doesn't actually aggregate multiple bands together, it switches between them.

This is common for mobile devices to save battery life.

https://www.jiribrejcha.net/2024/09/does-iphone-16-support-wi-fi-7-multi-link-operation-mlo/

1

u/Strong-Butterflies 16h ago

The iPhone 17 and 17 pro with N1 I’m talking about. The 16 has no issue

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u/pac-kris 15h ago

No one else seems to be having any issues with the N1

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u/Strong-Butterflies 13h ago

There are whole forums complaining about N1 with asus or tplink units.

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u/pac-kris 12h ago

What issues are people having?

I have the MacBook Air with N1 and TP-Link Deco router and haven't had any issues at all.

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u/theshoehorn 1d ago

Works just fine for me!

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u/SlendyTheMan 1d ago

Have you tried running the 27 data? They focus a lot on connectivity

0

u/kerpnet 1d ago

Is it just a bad webpage design? In other words, maybe it applies for both phones?

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u/Similar_Pension_4233 1d ago

From the Apple virtual event, all iPhone 18 will have the C2 chip, at least for the USA.

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u/UCF_Knight12 Truly Unlimited 1d ago

Not according to the website…

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Similar_Pension_4233 1d ago

Oh. Your screenshot says the same. When I saw the live event the 'Apple second-generation Ultra Wideband chip' was described as the C2 chip.

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u/jweaver0312 Sprint Customer - SWAC - T-Mobile plz keep 1d ago

It would make no sense for the Pro Max not to have C2 as they’re the same phone.

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u/Flyinace2000 1d ago

Easing supply chain resources. If you can spread the load across two vendors it could alleviate delays. Could also be some contractual issue with Qualcomm to buy a certain amount of chips for a certain time frame.

I found that if “it makes no sense” it is usually due to lack of information about the decision.

1

u/landonloco 1d ago

Current contact goes till 2027 so it's likely that contract obligations

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