Codefund: MacBook Pro in the future with a mobile phone chip?

Apple apparently very concrete the installation of a mobile phone modem into the MacBook Pro. Finds in the code of the current beta versions of MacOS 26 feed the hope of fulfilling a frequently heard user request in recent years. Together with the M5 Pro, Apple’s first own cellular chip, the C1, could find its way into the notebook.

With your own mobile phone modem, it would be possible with the MacBook to connect to the Internet without detours. So far, owners have either rely on a Wi-Fi or LAN connection. If you are on the go, you can share the smartphone’s mobile phone connection by tethering. With the iPhone, it is possible to connect a MacBook to the network either via WLAN, Bluetooth or cable.

C1 for the first time in the iPhone 16E

Apple’s C1, the first 5G modem from its own house, introduced the manufacturer with the iPhone 16E. Apple’s chip development for mobile communications and Wi-Fi takes a large part in Munich. For Apple, the use of its own modem has the advantage that the company becomes more independent of suppliers and that the chips can develop precisely for its devices, which can have advantages in energy efficiency and functional equipment. Accordingly, in spring it was already suspected that Apple could also use its own modem in addition to the iPhone in the future for further equipment.

This does not mean that Apple is guaranteed to introduce mobile communications with the next MacBook Pro generation. In any case, such finds indicate that the company is experimenting with this option and that these attempts have apparently reached certain progress if this even finds its way into public beta versions.

Codename Centuari

The MacBook Pro with M5 Pro found in the code has the code name T6050, reports MacWorld. The C1 camouflages under the “Centuari” names. The US financial news agency Bloomberg had already reported on the considerations of Apple to integrate mobile phone into the MacBook directly. However, these plans would not take shape before 2026. This would fit the current finds, because the rumor mill does not currently assume that Apple will be presenting the M5 in autumn. The first half of 2026 is the likely introduction date.