Apple has extended its Qualcomm modem purchase agreement for another three years. According to Bloomberg, this proves that working on a proprietary 5G modem is taking longer than previously thought.

Apple is Qualcomm’s largest customer, accounting for nearly a quarter of the company’s revenue. Qualcomm said in a statement that the agreement with Apple covers smartphones that will be released in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The deal was initially scheduled to end this year, and the iPhone 15 series was said to be the last model to use Qualcomm modems.

Apple has reportedly been working on its own modem since 2018 and acquired most of Intel’s smartphone modem business in 2019. The modem’s launch dates have already been shifted from 2023 to 2024 and 2025.

Earlier this month, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple’s proprietary modem would be released in 2025. Qualcomm expects the company’s share of iPhone shipments to be 20% when the new iPhone model is launched in 2026. Apple wants its 5G modem to follow the path of Apple Silicon, which shows significant battery life and performance benefits.