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The transition to in-house wireless chips began with the iPhone 16e’s C1. Apple aims to extend this to other product categories, with its entire iPhone 17 series expected to use custom Wi-Fi silicon. However, Apple is not limiting its home-grown hardware just to smartphones; it also plans to integrate these chips into other devices. Leaked code indicates that the same wireless chip will be used in the M5 MacBook Air family next year.
Currently, there is no confirmation if the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will form a single package on the M5 MacBook Air models. Apple’s plan is to use more efficient and space-conserving methods for its in-house wireless chips. In 2023, it was reported that the company would combine Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular chips into a single package to increase available space and contribute to power savings.
The next phase involves bringing this custom Wi-Fi chip to the M5 MacBook Air series, which @aaronp613 mentioned will maintain the same 13-inch and 15-inch footprint as the M4 MacBook Air range. This suggests that Apple will not introduce any design changes for the upcoming models. Based on previous reports, we expect these newer portable Macs to debut in the first quarter of 2026.
It remains unclear whether Apple will integrate Bluetooth with the custom Wi-Fi chip or keep them separate. However, we believe that the M5 MacBook Air models will initially feature an in-house Wi-Fi chip, with more advanced packaging appearing in subsequent models. This custom part is expected to operate similarly to the iPhone 16e’s C1, using Apple’s tightly-knit integration for optimized performance and efficiency.
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For further details, stay tuned for official announcements next year.
