Apple Extends Broadcom Chip Deal Through 2031, Signals Wireless Strategy
What You Need to Know
- Apple and Broadcom extended their chip supply partnership through 2031, expanding their existing relationship.
- Broadcom supplies approximately 20% of its annual revenue from Apple, making it a major customer.
- Broadcom manufactures custom radio frequency components, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and networking semiconductors for Apple’s devices.
- Apple’s 2031 commitment suggests the company does not plan to fully internalize wireless connectivity chip design soon.
Apple and Broadcom have agreed to extend their chip supply partnership through 2031, expanding a relationship that already spans years and covers a broad range of components built into Apple’s hardware lineup. Reuters first reported the deal. Broadcom shares climbed nearly 4% in premarket trading on the news, a reaction that reflects how much the partnership matters to the semiconductor company.
Apple is believed to account for roughly 20% of Broadcom’s annual revenue, making it one of the company’s largest customers by a considerable margin. The two companies signed a multibillion-dollar agreement in 2023 specifically covering 5G radio frequency components manufactured in the United States, and this latest extension builds on that foundation.
What Broadcom Actually Supplies
Apple has been pulling chip design steadily in-house. The C1 and C1X cellular modems are the clearest recent examples, and Apple’s broader silicon ambitions are visible across its product line, from the processors inside the HomePod lineup to the A-series chips in devices like the Apple TV 4K. But Broadcom holds ground in areas Apple has not yet displaced:
- Custom radio frequency components
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity chips
- Other networking semiconductors used across Apple’s hardware
That list explains why the extension runs to 2031. Wireless connectivity and RF components are specialized enough that replacing them with proprietary silicon takes time, investment, and a level of manufacturing scale that even Apple builds gradually.
The 2031 horizon also signals something about Apple’s internal roadmap. A six-plus year commitment suggests the company does not expect to fully internalize these remaining categories anytime soon, even as it continues consolidating control over the chips that define performance and differentiation. For Broadcom, locking in Apple’s business that far out removes a significant source of revenue uncertainty at a moment when the broader semiconductor industry is navigating pricing pressure and supply chain recalibration across consumer electronics.
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