Apple's Work on 6G Connectivity Already Expanding

[jsalda]

I wish the providers (👀 AT&T) would work on getting better 5G coverage before heading to 6G. When 5G works, it's plenty fast, except, in my area, it rarely works. There's an entire area of 2 square miles, in a suburb, where I can't even get messages out.

 

[jz0309]

so Apple is working on 6G? so is Qualcomm, Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, Mediatek and all the others ...
5G rollout still ongoing, 6G infrastructure maybe in 2030 ...

 

[jz0309]

Who was asking for 5G? Who's asking for 6G now?

It seems like we hit "more than fast enough" with LTE several years ago. Faster isn't a selling point to me anymore.

who asked for 3nm? 2nm?
I think you have a few things backwards ...

 

[citysnaps]

It’d be great if they could just get the iPhone 15 Pro Max Wi-Fi to work with iOS 17 first.

Works great for me. And is fast.

 

[CoMoMacUser]

Preliminary standards work on 6G began a couple of years ago, and the plan is to have commercial networks launching around 2030. But I was at a telecom analyst conference a few weeks ago, and the consensus among operators is that they want to see longer cycles between generations. No surprise. They're still struggling to monetize 5G. Aside from residential broadband, there is no market for 5G speeds. The 5G standards were written to cater to IoT, but very few IoT applications need capabilities such as URLLC and eMBB.

So why plunge ahead with 6G? Politics. Every country/region is jockeying to be the first and to dominate both the standards process and the market. Europe was first with 3G. The US was first with 4G and 5G. China, the EU and the US all want to pioneer 6G. Governments are happy to enable this arms race because every new generation is another opportunity to auction off even more spectrum, this time in the THz range.

 

[citysnaps]

For those having issues with 5G, have you considered that it’s nothing inherent with the technology but your carrier might just suck?

That's the most likely cause.

 

[anthony13]

Its not just you, it depends on the network and proximity to the 5g towers. Luckily for me, I have no slow down in most areas I go. Very rarely I experience it in crowded places. With 5G you are at the mercy of network provider.

I'm with Verizon currently. The biggest problem I have is that I work in events with large crowds. So I'm often in areas with a lot of cell traffic, and I often have no service right when I need it.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Then there's me, struggling to get 3G in certain areas

 

[Robert.Walter]

Maybe Apple 6G modem chip is the blade that cuts the 5G gordian knot.

 

[ELman]

I'm still waiting for decent LTE. 5G seemed to only benefit the carriers with higher capacity. Most 5G isn't any faster than LTE.

 

[mdriftmeyer]

But not using Apple’s in-house modem, right? Or 6G is the time Apple finally somehow build a custom modem chip themselves?

One assumes they have licensed Nokia 6G IP. And 6G won't be mainstream for another five years.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

For those having issues with 5G, have you considered that it’s nothing inherent with the technology but your carrier might just suck?

Of course not because they are on Verizon or ATT and are still brainwashed into thinking Verizon and ATT are a good network. When in reality they have totally dropped the ball on 5G.

 

[jz0309]

One assumes they have licensed Nokia 6G IP. And 6G won't be mainstream for another five years.

“Mainstream” in 5 years? Beginning to rollout maybe in 2030…

 

[jz0309]

Of course not because they are on Verizon or ATT and are still brainwashed into thinking Verizon and ATT are a good network. When in reality they have totally dropped the ball on 5G.

What about T-Mobile?
And please expand on “dropped the ball”

 

[mnsportsgeek]

What about T-Mobile?
And please expand on “dropped the ball”

T-Mobile has an excellent 5G network. Consistently rated number 1.

Dropped the ball means they didn’t invest what is necessary to build a competitive 5G network. Hence why everyone on those networks thinks it’s no better than LTE.

 

[chickeneaster]

You should switch to a 5G network that doesn't suck. I get gigabit download speeds regularly on my iPhone 15 Pro.

Who is your provider? I have AT&T and I'll be lucky if I see a few hundred megabytes download speeds

 

[W.O.P.R.]

Smart money's on 7G. Everyone's expecting 6G to come out after 5G, but if you come to market with 7G before 6G's even out, you're a total disruptor who just changed the entire narrative.

At least one company is already tossing around the term 10G in their marketing. It's not even cellular but I have met several people that believed the hype and asked me if they needed to get that since their current phone is stuck on old fashioned 5G.🤣

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Who is your provider? I have AT&T and I'll be lucky if I see a few hundred megabytes download speeds

Ya ATT and Verizon have terrible 5G networks. T-Mobile is the only one who bothered investing in the necessary mid band infrastructure to build a 5g network.

 

[bg4uei2]

Really? Where?

It literally says so in the linked Bloomberg article.

Apple is turning more of its attention to 6G, even as it works on 5G cellular modem.
...
While Apple is working on its first 5G modem, it’s increasingly hiring engineers to look at 6G.

Dylan Patel from SemiAnalysis also confirmed that reports about the modem being cancelled are fake.

 

[jz0309]

T-Mobile has an excellent 5G network. Consistently rated number 1.

Dropped the ball means they didn’t invest what is necessary to build a competitive 5G network. Hence why everyone on those networks thinks it’s no better than LTE.

I’ve been with VZ for like 15 years, before 5G I got 100+mbps download in certain areas, now with 5G I get much better, in certain areas. For me personally, that’s totally sufficient and I have not yet “upgraded” to a 5G plan…
It’s all about location, cell infrastructure is very expensive and hence is on / 10 year or so cycle

 

[WarmWinterHat]

For those having issues with 5G, have you considered that it’s nothing inherent with the technology but your carrier might just suck?

I have a Verizon and T-Mobile cell and I haven't seen much difference in speeds between LTE and 5G on either, in any city I've visited.

At home I can't say, as I have no Verizon signal there, but T-Mobile's speed is exactly the same on 5G-UC as it is on LTE.

 

[nt5672]

I have 3 access points.

Good for you. A lot of other people are not so lucky.

 

[ghostface147]

There are some battles not worth fighting. Being better than Qualcomm at modem technologies is one of them.

 

[ChedNasad]

Can we get 5G speeds actually meeting expectations before we talk about 6G? 5G is shaping up to be like 4G in the sense of it not really meeting the hype.

 

[spcopsmac21]

Apple's work on implementing 6G cellular connectivity on its devices appears to be ramping up, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple is increasingly turning its attention to 6G, even amid its widely reported difficulties developing a custom 5G cellular modem.

In 2021, the first highly specific Apple job listings with reference to 6G emerged. Now, a further job position for a Modem Systems Software Architect has appeared on the company's website that seeks an individual to "coordinate the design and modeling of a 6G reference architecture." Gurman says the listing is part of the company's growing push to hire engineers to develop 6G cellular technologies.

Carriers are already working on next-generation 6G networking. In late 2020, Apple joined the Next G Alliance, an industry group set up by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) that seeks to "advance North American mobile technology leadership in 6G and beyond over the next decade, while building on the long-term evolution of 5G."

Some analysts say the technology could enable speeds more than 100 times faster than 5G, but the extent of its enhanced performance in the real world is yet to be seen. 6G is not expected to emerge on consumer devices until around 2030.

Article Link: Apple's Work on 6G Connectivity Already Expanding

I’m holding out for 10G