Apple just completed its silicon independence mission with three new custom chips that give the company complete control over every core component in the iPhone Air. The A19 Pro introduces neural accelerators directly into GPU cores for the first time, while new N1 wireless and C1X modem chips finally break Apple's dependence on Broadcom and Qualcomm.
Apple isn't just launching another iPhone - it's declaring silicon independence. The company's new A19 Pro chip fundamentally rewrites mobile AI architecture by embedding neural accelerators directly into GPU cores, delivering what VP Tim Millet calls "MacBook Pro class performance inside an iPhone." But the bigger story is Apple's quiet takeover of every critical chip inside the iPhone Air, marking the end of a multi-billion dollar dependency on outside suppliers.
The transformation runs deeper than performance metrics. Apple's first-ever wireless chip, the N1, replaces Broadcom components that have powered iPhone connectivity for over a decade. Meanwhile, the second-generation C1X modem cuts another cord to Qualcomm, delivering "up to twice the speed" of its predecessor while using 30% less energy than competing solutions.
"That's where the magic is," Millet told CNBC in his first U.S. interview about the chips at Apple Park. "When we have control, we're able to do things beyond what we can do by buying merchant silicon."
The shift carries immediate market implications. While Qualcomm retains modem business in the iPhone 17 Pro lineup, analysts expect Apple to "completely phase out" the partnership within two years. Broadcom faces similar displacement as Apple's N1 chip spans the entire iPhone 17 family plus the Air.
But it's the A19 Pro's neural architecture that signals Apple's real AI ambitions. Unlike previous generations that relied on separate Neural Engine processors, the new design integrates matrix computation directly into graphics cores. "We're integrating neural processing in a way that allows switching back and forth between 3D-rendering instructions and neural-processing instructions, all seamlessly," Millet explained.
The approach mirrors Nvidia's tensor core strategy, according to Creative Strategies CEO Ben Bajarin, but optimized for mobile efficiency. Apple's VP of wireless technologies Arun Mathias highlighted practical benefits: the new front camera uses AI to detect faces and automatically switches to horizontal shooting, "leveraging almost all the capabilities in the A19 Pro."
