Bloomberg: Apple hires engineers to work on 6G wireless connectivity

Apple is hiring engineers to work on next-generation 6G wireless technology, based on job listings released by Bloombergis Mark Gurman.

The lists are for positions at Apple’s offices in Silicon Valley and San Diego, where the company works with wireless technology development and chip design, according to Gurman’s report.

“You will have the unique and rewarding opportunity to create the next generation wireless technology that will have a profound impact on future Apple products,” according to the job announcement. “In this role, you will be at the center of a cutting edge research group responsible for creating next generation disruptive radio access technologies in the next decade.”

Those hired for the positions will “research and design next generation (6G) wireless communication systems for radio access networks” and “participate in industry forums / academics passionate about 6G technology”.

Apple only adopted 5G connectivity on its iPhones last year, and 6G is not expected to launch until around 2030, but job listings indicate that Apple is eager to get involved in the early stages of developing the new technology.

Late last year, Apple joined the Next G Alliance, an industry group created by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) that seeks to “promote North American mobile technology leadership in 6G and beyond in the next decade, while working on 5G term evolution. “

The Next G Alliance held its first member meeting in November to define the overall direction and strategy for the initiative. Other members of the group include Charter, Cisco, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Keysight Technologies, LG, Mavenir, MITER and VMware.

In September, AT&T said it already had engineers working on the next generation 6G network. Some analysts say the technology can allow speeds more than 100 times faster than 5G, but again, the technology is unlikely to arrive in the coming years.

The move continues a trend for Apple preferring to develop internal hardware for its devices, rather than relying on third parties. In 2019, Apple and Qualcomm settled a legal battle and reached a multi-year chipset supply contract that paved the way for Apple to use Qualcomm’s 5G modems on iPhone 12 models.

In addition, a court settlement document revealed that Apple is likely to use the Snapdragon X60 modem for iPhones 2021, followed by the world’s first 5G 10 Gigabit modem, the Snapdragon X65, in 2022 iPhones.

The Snapdragon X65 may be the last Qualcomm modem used in iPhones, however, as analysts at Barclays and several other sources have predicted that Apple will switch to its own internal 5G modem for iPhones in 2023.