Apple's Work on 6G Connectivity Already Expanding

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

iphone 5g mmwave
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.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
maxresdefault

iOS 26 Code Leak Reveals Apple Smart Home Hub Details

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:02 pm PST by
Apple is working on a smart home hub that will rely heavily on the more capable version of Siri that's coming next year. We've heard quite a bit about the hub over the last two years, but a recent iOS 26 code leak provides additional insight into what we can expect and confirms rumored features. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Macworld claims to have access to an ...

Top Rated Comments

MrRom92 Avatar
27 months ago
This is it! This is when they activate all the vaccine chips!
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PsykX Avatar
27 months ago
"100 times faster than 5G"...
in other words...
"100 times faster than 4G" ?
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hieranonymous Avatar
27 months ago
It’s possible Apple’s realized its timeline for in-house 5G modems is still far-enough off that it makes more sense at this point just to shift those engineering resources over to 6G development. It’s amazing what a stranglehold Qualcomm has over the 5G space. It’s still too critical of a component for Apple not to want to bring it in-house, but it’s clearly a difficult technology to develop.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4odomi Avatar
27 months ago

('https://www.macrumors.com/2023/12/04/apple-work-on-6g-expanding/')

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 ('https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-12-03/apple-to-drop-goldman-sachs-for-apple-card-chase-bank-is-ideal-replacement-lppjbe7z?') of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple is increasingly turning its attention to 6G, even amid its widely reported difficulties ('https://www.macrumors.com/2023/11/16/apple-in-house-5g-modem-delays/') developing a custom 5G cellular modem ('https://www.macrumors.com/guide/apple-5g-modem/').

In 2021, the first highly specific Apple job listings ('https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/18/apple-seeking-engineers-work-on-6g/') with reference to 6G emerged. Now, a further job position for a Modem Systems Software Architect ('https://jobs.apple.com/en-us/details/200520108/modem-systems-software-architect?team=SFTWR') 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 ('https://www.macrumors.com/2020/09/21/att-says-5g-iphones-might-not-be-massive-event/'). In late 2020, Apple joined ('https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/13/apple-joins-6g-industry-group/') 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 ('https://www.macrumors.com/2023/12/04/apple-work-on-6g-expanding/')
If 5G is anything to go by, 6G is nothing to shout about ?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4odomi Avatar
27 months ago

It’d be great if they could just get the iPhone 15 Pro Max Wi-Fi to work with iOS 17 first.
My partner has had hers for 30 days, never had an issue with wi-fi!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jimbonatius Avatar
27 months ago
By the time I get to experience 5G, 6G will probably be out, lol.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)