Samuel Axon
Apple has posted several mailing lists suggesting that they hire engineers to work internally on 6G technology so that they do not have to rely on partners like Qualcomm, as the next generation of wireless technology is a few years later.
The mailing list, first spotted and reported by Bloomberg, includes titles such as ‘Wireless Research Systems Engineer – 5G / 6G’ and ‘RAN1 / RAN4 Standards Engineer’.
The full list includes statements such as “You will be part of a team doing definitions and research of next generation standards such as 6G,” “You will explore and design the next generation (6G) wireless communication systems for radio access networks with an emphasis on the PHY / MAC / L2 / L3 layers, “” Participate in industry / academic forums that are passionate about 6G technology, “and” Contribute to future 3GPP RAN work items on 6G technology. ”
The roles are in the company’s Cupertino headquarters, as well as in San Diego, where Apple has opened offices specifically to focus on wireless and silicone technologies, with a view to getting talent out of San Diego’s headquarters in Qualcomm.
Apple launched its first 5G iPhones in the iPhone 12 series late last year, and these phones use Qualcomm modems. But recent reports have already revealed that Apple plans to design its own modems so that they can drop the Qualcomm components of future phones, just as they are now developing their own silicone for Macs to finally get Intel chips into replace most of the product range.
Total end-to-end integration of all parts of the hardware, software and services in devices has long been a key marketing point and an internal guiding principle for product development at Apple. The company says it believes this approach enables better products and user experiences, but it also enables Apple to continue to rely less and less on other players for success.
Apple recently partnered with other companies such as LG and Google to join the industry group “Next G Alliance” to work together to define the specifications for 6G, which are emerging and are not expected to reach consumers for years to come. There are no details yet about the timeline, specifications or features of 6G. 5G has only been launching for the past few years, and the vast majority of the world does not yet have access to 5G or its full capabilities.
So if Apple joins groups like the Next G Alliance or hires for such positions, it usually won’t tell us much about nearby product plans. That said, reports of the company’s progress with its own modems suggest that Apple is likely to reach capacity before launching 6G, so the first Apple modems are likely to be 5G, not 6G.
In our reviews of the iPhone 12 series last year, we found that 5G had a significant negative impact on the battery life of the phones. Future modern refinements can reduce the impact.