Apple’s latest iPhone 17 Pro Max has been taken apart, and the teardown confirms that Qualcomm remains the modem supplier for Apple’s flagship devices. Inside the Pro Max is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X80 modem, the same chip found in the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro, while the thinner iPhone Air relies on Apple’s in-house C1X modem.
The Snapdragon X80 is a powerful 5G modem with peak download speeds of up to 10 Gbps, six-carrier aggregation on sub-6 GHz bands, and full support for mmWave 5G in the United States. Qualcomm has built AI acceleration directly into the modem, which intelligently optimizes network speed, coverage, latency, and power efficiency, giving iPhone 17 Pro Max owners faster performance without compromising battery life.
It is important to note that mmWave support remains limited to the U.S. models of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. This high-frequency technology offers ultra-fast speeds in dense areas such as city centers, stadiums, and airports, but is not yet widely available in most international markets. Apple’s C1 and C1X modems, which power the iPhone 16e and iPhone Air, are limited to sub-6 GHz 5G, which is slower but better suited for suburban and rural coverage.
Although the Snapdragon X80 is only a year old, Qualcomm has already introduced its successor, the Snapdragon X85. Android flagships like Samsung’s Galaxy S25 and Xiaomi’s 15 series have started to adopt it, leaving Apple’s latest iPhones a step behind on paper. However, Apple is working toward its own modem solution, with the C2 modem expected to debut in the iPhone 18 Pro models. That upgrade is expected to bring mmWave 5G to Apple’s custom silicon for the first time, reducing dependence on Qualcomm.
For now, the iPhone 17 Pro Max delivers strong connectivity with Snapdragon X80 hardware, balancing AI-driven performance improvements with global reliability. Apple continues to refine its own modem strategy in the background, but Qualcomm still sets the standard in the iPhone 17 lineup.
(via bilibili)
