iPhone 18 Pro to Split Modems: Qualcomm in US, C2 Elsewhere

The interesting part of the latest Apple leak isn't the camera bump or the chip codename, it's what the modem split says about how far along Apple's in-house cellular effort actually is. According to AppleInsider, Tata Electronics supplier documents point to the iPhone 18 Pro shipping with a Qualcomm modem in US models and Apple's own C2 modem in models sold elsewhere.

The reason for the split is prosaic but load-bearing: Apple's C2 reportedly lacks mmWave capability, which US carriers use. The leaked files reference two distinct logic board part numbers, one for the mmWave/Qualcomm build (820-04340-06) and one for the non-mmWave build (820-04305-06), plus a note reading "No more dual PSIM starting in V64 P2" — which the reporting reads as a sign that the Chinese market may finally move to eSIM.

Around the modem story sits a stack of A20 Pro details. The chip is reportedly codenamed Borneo, and the documents corroborate an older rumor that Apple is moving to WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) packaging in place of the InFO-PoP approach it has been using, which would allow separate CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine dies for more configuration flexibility. On the camera side, the main sensor reportedly shifts from Sony's IMX-903 to the IMX-905, with a rumored variable aperture.

The honest caveat is that this is stolen supplier documentation representing prototype hardware at various development stages, not a shipping spec. The dump runs over 630GB of files, and prototype board choices can move before any actual launch. What the reporting doesn't give you is a timeline for when C2 might gain mmWave, a breakdown of which non-US regions get which modem, or any commercial detail on what this split means for Qualcomm's iPhone revenue over time.

Still, the direction is clear enough. Apple's in-house modem work looks real enough to ship at scale in markets that don't need mmWave, while Qualcomm's flagship socket survives another generation in the one country where the carriers actually deploy mmWave at scale.