MacworldThe most important thing about the new iPhone 16e is the Apple-designed cellular modem inside, the C1. The C1 is the first visible sign of Apples decade-long goal to no longer be reliant on Qualcomm for one of the most important parts of any smartphone, namely its connection to cellular networks. The C1 is also an endorsement of the entire approach Apple has taken with Apple silicon, which will lead to future Apple products that are more efficient and better integrated than ever before.Bad bloodWe all know that Apple doesnt particularly like Qualcomm, with the two companies having been engaged in numerous lawsuits before finally calling it quits in 2019. A few months after settling with Qualcomm, Apple spent $1 billion to buy Intels modem business. The goal was clear: Apple settled with Qualcomm and agreed to pay patent fees and buy Qualcomms modems until it could make its own. Nearly six years later, that time has come.The rest of the smartphone world doesnt seem to mind buying Qualcomms modems, which hold a dominant market share, especially when you only consider high-end phones like the ones Apple makes. As current iPhone users know, Qualcomms 5G modems are solid, fast, and good. So why is Apple kicking against them so hard?Yes, part of it is (as illustrated in some of those lawsuits) that Apple feels Qualcomm is making money on patents that either shouldnt exist or should be licensed for far less than what the company charges. But thats water under the bridgethe lawsuits were settled, and Apple will probably have to keep paying Qualcomm for patents until they expire.We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make.Tim Cook, January 2009But the bigger issue is whats commonly called the Cook Doctrine, though its a philosophy that dates back to Steve Jobs. As Cook said back in 2009, We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make.Whats more relevant to a maker of mobile devices than wireless connections? (And oh, by the way, Apple is also rumored to be building its own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, too.)But this isnt just about independence from a supplier you dislike. Its about the power of controlling your own destiny, Apple silicon style.The Apple silicon playbookThink back to the days when Macs were powered by Intel processors. While Apple was a good customer of Intels for a long time, in the end, they were just thata customer, buying products. While a good manufacturer talks to their customers and tries to give them what they want, its Intels job to make chips for the entire PC market, not just Apple. Intels chips are built to sell well in the PC market, not just to integrate with the designs of any single manufacturer. Qualcomm is much the same.Apple iPhone 16eBest Prices Today:699 at Computeruniverse | 699 at OTTO | 699,00 at amazon.deApple silicon doesnt work that way. Every Apple-designed chip is built with specific products in mind. The M4 was designed with the 2024 iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac in mindand the forthcoming 2025 MacBook Air, too. The hardware and chip designnot to mention the operating systemall go hand in hand. Its a huge advantage because it allows for optimizations that no third-party chip vendor could match. Apple only builds the features it needs, and nothing it doesnt.All of this goes for the C1 chip, too. For example, Apple can prioritize energy efficiency more than a Qualcomm chip destined for an array of different use cases ever could. It goes beyond optimization because Apple can also build the features it wants into its chipsfeatures that Qualcomm might not see value in building for the whole market.While Apple has boasted that the C1 chip is differentiated by its ability to reprioritize data transfers based on information from the Apple-designed processor, Im sure that Qualcomm has similar quality-of-service functionality in its chips. But again, its implemented the way that Qualcomm wants, not Appleand its not implemented with the specific characteristics of Apples operating systems in mind.Learning curveTheres a reason the C1 is debuting in Apples low-cost, low-volume iPhone 16e. Apple is starting small. The C1 probably cant keep up with Qualcomms best chips in all circumstances, and Apple knows this. (Youll know when Apple is confident that its caught or bested Qualcommthatll be the moment when it ships its own cellular modem in top-of-the-line iPhone models.)The iPhone 16e is the first iPhone with Apples own cellular modem, the C1.Apple In fact, I think its almost guaranteed that once the iPhone 16e ships, someone will discover specific ways in which the C1 lags behind the performance of other iPhones, and will breathlessly report this as some sort of scandal. But its almost inevitable: this is the first step, to get Apple in the game. There will be more.We build a platform for generations, Srouji told Reuters. C1 is the start, and were going to keep improving that technology each generation so that it becomes a platform for us that will be used to truly differentiate this technology for our products.So yes, Apple doesnt love Qualcomm. But this strategy isnt about sticking it to a supplier-turned-competitor. Its about making Apples devices fundamentally better in the long run. Apples ability to design its chips with a singular focus on its own ecosystem ensures that its hardware and software will work together in ways that no third-party supplier could matchnot even the best one in the world.Given how well Apple has executed every other aspect of Apple silicon over the last decade, who wants to bet against them nailing this one too?