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

Apple hires engineers to work on next-generation 6G wireless technology based on job listings seen by BloombergMark Gurman.

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

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

People hired for these positions will “research and design next-generation (6G) wireless communications systems for radio access networks” and “participate in industry / academic forums passionate about 6G technology.”

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

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

The Next G Alliance held its first meeting for members in November to set the direction and overall strategy of 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 has engineers working on the next-generation 6G network. Some analysts say the technology could allow speeds more than 100 times faster than 5G, but again, the technology is not expected to arrive in a few years.

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

Beyond that, a court document in the agreement revealed that Apple will probably use the Snapdragon X60 modem for iPhones in 2021, followed by the world’s first 10 Gigabit 5G modem, Snapdragon X65, in 2022 iPhones.

Snapdragon X65 could be the last Qualcomm modem used on the iPhone, however, as analysts at Barclays and other sources have predicted that Apple will switch to its own internal 5G modem for the iPhone by 2023.