Apple Announces Custom-Made N1 Chip for Better Network and Connectivity on iPhones

At the "Awe Dropping" event today, Apple made the iPhone 17 series and the iPhone Air official. Apart from the regular flurry of features and upgrades, the Cupertino giant has also announced a new custom-chip for iPhones.

Apple has equipped the iPhone 17 linuep and the iPhone Air with a new wireless networking chip, the N1. This is a custom-made silicon developed in-house to let iPhones support the latest networking technologies.

Apple says that this new proprietary connectivity chipset will help iPhones achieve better wireless performance and power efficiency. It is tasked with managing the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Thread radios inside iPhones.

The N1 chip is further said to boost the performance and reliability of Apple's AirDrop function. This comes after the brand introduced the Apple C1 5G modem chip with the iPhone 16e. Alongside the N1 chipset, there is also a new C1X 5G modem within the Apple iPhone Air.

Introducing N1, our Apple-designed chip, which enables the latest wireless networking technologies Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 6 and Thread, while improving overall performance and reliability in key areas like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop.

— Tim Millet, Vice President of Platform Architecture, Apple