A teardown of the iPhone 18 Pro Max has confirmed an oddity of the US-based model, in that it uses a Qualcomm modem instead of Apple’s C2 chip.
Apple’s introduction of the iPhone 18 Pro line included a lot of hype about its use of the C2 modem. It turns out not to be the case for the iPhone 18 Pro Max in the United States.
In details from a teardown of the iPhone 18 Pro Max by TechInsights, it details many of the typical internal components, like the A20 Pro chip and the N1 wireless module. However, when it comes to the cellular system, it’s using a Qualcomm Snapdragon SDX80M 5G modem.
To the publication, the existence of the Qualcomm modem may be an indicator of regional differences or multiple modem configurations within the entire iPhone 18 lineup.
The same RF board also includes modules from Skyworks, Broadcom, Qorvo, Texas Instruments, and an NXP NFC controller. There’s also the Apple Wireless Combo Module, marked N1, used to handle Wi-Fi.
A very specific exception
The teardown’s discovery of a Qualcomm modem is interesting, considering Apple’s promotion of the C2 in its press release. However, reading the press release shows Apple has carefully said it is included in the iPhone 18 Pro.
While this could be taken to mean the iPhone 18 Pro range, it can also mean the specific model. Apple doesn’t specify the use of Qualcomm’s modem at all, nor does it hint that the iPhone 18 Pro Max could use anything other than the C2, but it also doesn’t explicitly connect the C2 with the Pro Max either.
Checking Apple’s specification pages for the iPhone 18 Pro line confirm that there’s a difference in how it handles the modem in the models.
Modem descriptions in Apple’s specifications for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Note the lack of the last C2 modem line for the Pro Max model.
The U.S. version splits the modem capabilities of the Pro and Pro Max variants into separate columns. The only difference between the two is the line “Apple C2 cellular modem” for the iPhone 18 Pro, and a blank space for the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
This appears to be a configuration choice just for the United States. Checking the same page for Canada, the UK, France, India, and other markets has identical columns, but with “Apple C2 cellular modem” in both of them.
It is unclear why Apple has singled out the U.S. version of the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and Apple is unlikely to ever say why. But, with this happening only to one market and one iPhone variant, it’s probably Apple fulfilling the requirements of its 2023 agreement with Qualcomm.