Does anyone remember when Apple was about to collapse because it didn’t offer 5G iPhones? Well, things have changed since then and as we make our way toward the 6G network transition expected in 2030 or so, Apple is ready to take part.

How do I know this? Because Apple will have a presence at this year’s Mobile World Congress to demonstrate its work on 6G networking performance with Ericsson. This is significant, not only because we hardly ever see Apple openly attend that show, but also because it shows the company’s modem development teams aren’t just following industry development, they’re helping to lead it.

Apple is committed to next-gen networks

“Ericsson and Apple will have a live demonstration of Multi-RAT Spectrum Sharing (MRSS) between 5G and 6G,” Ericsson explained in a statement. “This solution will help CSPs (Communication Service Providers) with smooth 5G to 6G migration and coexistence, minimizing resource waste and signalling overhead. The demo will use two systems running proof of concept technology — one on 5G and one simulating 6G that are connected to an Ericsson base station operating in Time Division Duplex (TDD) mid-band — validating real-time interoperability and performance of MRSS.”

There are plenty of anacronyms in that statement. That’s not unusual when dealing with the metalanguage that governs specialized industry development; what it essentially means is that Apple, Ericsson, and others are figuring out how to get 6G and 5G networks to share the same basic bandwidth, enabling the standard to be more efficiently (and presumably, affordably) deployed. 

This matters because one reason 5G introduction has been slower than expected is the cost of such deployments. This technology should enable a more strategic approach to the move to 6G.

Ericsson says the work with Apple and MediaTek “represents an ecosystem approach to developing, validating, and demonstrating essential 6G capabilities.All three companies are committed to the transition to 6G, building on robust 3GPP standards to ensure that the new generation of mobile networks is scalable, open, and ready to meet the evolving demands of AI-driven applications.”

Apple’s influence in 3GPP: Shaping future mobile standards

Apple is part of the 3GPP industry standards development and setting organization, with leaders from the company chairing some of the working groups. While 3GPP has worked to prevent big tech from dominating its direction, the company behind a billion or so actively used smartphones will give Apple some influence. The company has played a strong role in curating the initial standards proposals for 6G and has been actively involved in creating what will become the 6G standard, both in 3GPP and in the Next G Alliance. 

It has been working for years to weave some of its own ideas into the emerging 6G standard. For example, just last year it stressed that to succeed 6G will need to provide  good user experiences, stable and consistent networking operations, backward compatibly and energy efficiency.

User experience, compatibility, and energy efficiency

The company is also pushing for a cohesive standard, not a repetition of the confusing and conflicting versions of the same thing that’s hampered 5G’s introduction. Apple’s work likely means we will have good 6G support out of the box, with good power/performance and the ability to easily share communications with any networking device, including LEO satellites (which 6G should support as part of the standard). 

(It’s tempting to think Apple might introduce an ultra-secure, premium, satellite messaging, and communications service down the road, something that might reduce the available attack surface for some nation-state attackers.)

Ericsson, meanwhile, explains: “6G networks will be built on the foundation of 3GPP standards, complemented by O-RAN Alliance specifications, to enable open and globally scalable platforms for innovation. As work in 3GPP progresses, with first implementable specifications targeted for 2029 and commercial readiness expected around 2030, early collaborations with device and chipset partners like Apple and MediaTek are crucial for building the 6G ecosystem and ensuring network and device interoperability.”

Apple, the 6G champion

For Apple watchers like me, what is most interesting here is that Apple’s work can be seen as proof that, having arguably been late to both 4G and 5G, the company —now with its own modem development experts — is working hard to ensure it’s very much part of the transition to 6G. It also means Apple is just a little bit easier to find at the annual mobile industry event MWC.

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