Apple is already working on the development of 6G wireless technology

Apple has posted several job postings saying it is hiring engineers to work on 6G technology internally, so it doesn’t have to rely on partners like Qualcomm as the next generation of wireless technology arrives several years later.

The job postings, which were first spotted and reported by Bloomberg, include titles such as “Wireless Research Systems Engineer – 5G / 6G” and “RAN1 / RAN4 Standards Engineer”.

The lists contain statements such as “You will be part of a team defining and researching next generation standards such as 6G”, “You will research and design next generation (6G) wireless communication systems for radio access networks with an emphasis on the PHY. / MAC / L2 / L3 layer ”,“ Participate in industrial / university forums passionate about 6G technology ”and“ Contribute to future 3GPP RAN work items on the 6G technology ”.

The roles are at the company headquarters in Cupertino, as well as in San Diego, where Apple has opened offices specifically to focus on wireless and silicon technologies, with the apparent aim of removing talent from Qualcomm’s headquarters in San Diego.

Apple introduced its first 5G iPhones in the iPhone 12 lineup late last year, and those phones use Qualcomm modems. But recent reports have already revealed that Apple plans to design its own modems so that it can remove Qualcomm components from future phones, just as it is now developing its own silicon for Macs to ultimately replace Intel chips in most of the company’s products. range.

Full end-to-end integration of all parts of hardware, software, and services across devices has long been both a key marketing point and an internal guiding principle for product development at Apple. The company says it believes this approach leads to better products and experiences for users, but it also allows Apple to move forward with less and less reliance on other players for success.

Apple recently joined the “Next G Alliance” industry group with other companies like LG and Google to work together to define specifications for 6G, which is nascent and is not expected to reach consumers for many years to come. There are no details yet on the 6G’s timeline, specs, or features. 5G has only been rolling out over the past two years, and the vast majority of the world does not yet have access to 5G or all of its capabilities.

So when Apple joins groups like the Next G Alliance or hires for roles like these, it usually won’t tell us much about product plans in the near future. That said, reports on the company’s progress on its own modems suggest that Apple will likely achieve this capability before 6G rolls out, so the first modems made by Apple will likely be 5G, not 6G.

In our reviews of the iPhone 12 lineup last year, we found that 5G had a big negative impact on the battery life of phones. Future modem upgrades may reduce this impact.