Apple Sees 6G as Strategically Important to its Future, Amid 5G Slowdown

Olufemi Adeyemi 

It was previously reported that Apple is winding down its years of investment in developing its custom 5G modems. Industry analyst Mark Gurman claims that the company is still working on its in-house modems, but the pace is reduced due to ongoing technical difficulties in the development process. Amid the ongoing issues, Apple has ramped up its efforts to bring 6G cellular connectivity to its product line, according to a new report.

Apple has been working on a 6G cellular modem, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter Gurman said, While Apple is working on its first 5G modem, it's increasingly hiring engineers to look at 6G.

Apple started working on its custom modems after the Cupertino-based company acquired the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business in 2019. However, Apple’s attempt to produce in-house 5G modem chips has been reportedly hampered by major problems related to unrealistic goals, an inadequate understanding of the challenges involved, and unusable prototypes.

According to Gurman, Apple is racing to get its modem finished so it doesn’t need to re-up a contract to buy the component from Qualcomm. “The two companies have feuded over the years, and Apple really doesn’t want to rely on Qualcomm for this vital iPhone part,” he added.

Producing in-house modems would give Apple more control over the technology and potentially offer financial benefits. However, Modems are extremely difficult to develop and require testing globally. Gurman said if Apple's modem comes to market and doesn't work well, it will be the biggest black eye of Tim Cook's tenure as chief executive officer.

The 6G standard isn't expected until 2030 at the earliest. This gives Apple enough time to work and test its custom 6G cellular modems.

Earlier, a report by MacRumors stated that Apple is discontinuing the in-house 5G modem development project after several unsuccessful attempts. Gurman, in his newsletter, has rejected these reports and said that the company is turning more of its attention to 6G, even as it works on 5G cellular modem.

Here are some of the potential benefits of 6G:

• Much faster data speeds: 6G is expected to offer data speeds that are 100 times faster than 5G, making it possible to download entire movies in seconds.
• Lower latency: 6G will also have significantly lower latency than 5G, which will be crucial for real-time applications like virtual reality and autonomous vehicles.
• Massive network capacity: 6G will support a much larger number of connected devices than 5G, paving the way for the explosion of the Internet of Things (IoT).

While we wait for 6G to become a reality, it's exciting to see Apple pushing the boundaries of what's possible with wireless technology. Only time will tell if their gamble on 6G pays off, but one thing's for sure: the future of mobile connectivity is looking incredibly fast.

December 05, 2023