The iPhone 18 Pro series will make its debut later this year, and new details continue to emerge. While the external design of the flagships will be very much similar to the iPhone 17 Pro, Apple may bring new colors and some under-the-hood upgrades/changes. One such change is that the Cupertino giant is reportedly planning on moving to Apple-designed modems for the entire iPhone 18 lineup, leaving the Qualcomm modems behind, while also reportedly bringing a privacy benefit.
Apple’s iPhone 18 modem upgrade could bring a privacy benefit
The shift to Apple-designed modems should bring speed and efficiency improvements, but there’s something with regard to privacy as well. In iOS 26.3, Apple added a new “Limit Precise Location” setting. As the name implies, this cuts down on the amount of location data that’s available to mobile networks, thereby improving user privacy.
For context, mobile networks determine your location through information from cellular towers that the device connects to, often pinpointing your accurate location. With the Limit Precise Location setting on, the amount of data provided to mobile networks is restricted. For instance, instead of identifying your exact address down to a street, the network may only know your neighborhood.
This doesn’t impact signal quality
While that’s good, the issue is that the feature currently works only on devices with the Apple C1/C1x modem. The list here includes the iPhone Air, iPhone 16e, iPhone 17e, and M5 iPad Pro. Meanwhile, devices like the iPhone 17 Pro with Qualcomm modems do not have the Limit Precise Location setting. The upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone Fold are rumored to use Apple’s modem technology, and it’s likely that privacy will expand to the full lineup.
It’s worth noting that reducing location precision doesn’t impact signal quality or user experience. It will not affect the precision of location data shared with emergency responders during an emergency. This change only limits the location data given to cellular carriers. This is also different from location data that apps receive through Location Services.
Apple’s C2 modem will reportedly be more capable than C1 and C1X
Having said that, though Apple’s upcoming flagships are likely to get this new privacy feature, carriers need to implement support. There are very few carriers that have added the feature. If the new modem privacy feature makes its way to the entire iPhone 18 lineup, and there’s customer demand, it might see widespread adoption.
Meanwhile, the upcoming C2 modem, which Apple is reportedly working on, will be more capable than the C1/C1X. It will apparently offer performance similar to Qualcomm’s newest modems. It may even bring mmWave 5G support, which earlier versions lack.
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