Cl continues the Apple Silicon philosophy: Borchers

Apple's newest and most affordable iPhone, the iPhone 16e, which goes on sale in India on Friday, marks a significant transition that might otherwise go unnoticed.

- Vishal Mathur

MUMBAI: The tech giant has begun shifting away from Qualcomm's mobile modems to its in-house Cl modem technology.

The Cl represents the company's continued expansion of its custom silicon strategy, designed to optimize performance while reducing energy consumption. In an interview to HT, one of Apple's key executives said the latest innovation signals movement in a crucial direction: more performance with lower energy consumption.

"Our approach to Apple silicon is always about performance per watt, which is how we can generate the highest level of performance with least energy expenditure. That's what drives this benefit for our customers," said Bob Borchers, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, in an interview.

The iPhone 16e, prices starting at 59,900, becomes the most affordable in the current generation portfolio. It features a 6.1-inch screen, the same size as the iPhone 16.

Borchers believes "holistic thinking" is key to achieving these performance gains. Apple claims this is the most power-efficient modem ever in an iPhone, and also among the fastest for 5G connectivity.

"The modem is actually one of the biggest consumers of energy within the system. Our ability to focus on that performance, power, and efficiency in the same way we have with other parts of Apple Silicon, has been transformational," he added.