Apple's ongoing modem push rumored to result in cellular MacBooks

AppleInsider

Apple's work to build its own 5G modem could keep MacBook users online without an iPhone, with the prospect of a wider rollout beyond iPhones and cellular iPads.

14-inch MacBook Pro

The multi-year modem project has the main intention of replacing Qualcomm's modem for an in-house design. However, Apple is considering the possibility of using its modems beyond the currently cellular-equipped product lines.

People familiar with the modem effort told Bloomberg of the modem, codenamed "Sinope," which will be more tightly integrated with Apple's other hardware components. This could result in some obvious benefits including a thinner iPhone.

However, Apple is said to be looking into whether it should add cellular connectivity to its Mac product line. The idea would result in a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro that could connect to the Internet over a mobile phone signal, but one built into the device itself.

This idea would mean the MacBook could connect without needing to tether with other devices, such as an iPhone.

It is reckoned that, if Apple does go down that path, it won't be before 2026. This is because Apple's second-generation modem will apparently be more suited to providing high speeds that a MacBook Pro user would want to use.

The concepts go beyond the MacBook line, however. It is also proposed that the modem could be included in headsets, such as a future model of the Apple Vision Pro. Again, this would eliminate the need for an iPhone for tethering, and could allow for users to roam around while carrying around less equipment.

Rumor Score: Possible

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darbus69

most of us do not need high speed for the majority of our computing needs, bring it on Apple, ain’t getting any younger!

1.Ring
2.iPhone Fold
3.Cellular MacBookAir

heaven on earth

tht

Finally!

This is possibly the last great feature. Ubiquitous Internet access is what really mainstreamed computers. Offer it for the desktops too!

mark fearing

This is the kind of thing that seems rather pedestrian but could be really beneficial and something that once integrated and people get used to it, we all wonder why it took so long. 

yyzguy

I’ll still continue to use my iPhone as a hotspot just as I do for my iPad unless a carrier will allow multiple devices to share a single subscription.   Visible wireless at $25/month with unlimited data works good enough for me.

Rogue01

tht said:

Finally!

This is possibly the last great feature. Ubiquitous Internet access is what really mainstreamed computers. Offer it for the desktops too!

Desktop?  Why?  WiFi and Ethernet at home, way faster than cell service.  

Rogue01

Apple already prototyped this back in 2007 with a MacBook Pro and nixed the idea.  Everyone already has a phone with Hotspot so they don't need to waste money on extra hardware and an extra data plan costing more money when the phone can already do it for the price of one data plan.  The cellular radio will also be another 'feature' to drain the MacBook battery and increase the cost of the laptop, for a feature that would rarely be used.  The WiFi iPad outsells the Cellular version by leaps and bounds because it is less expensive and people can use their phone's hotspot or a public WiFi, just like they already do with existing MacBooks.

M68000

No interest in paying for more cell service.   With WiFi so common nearly everywhere,  not getting the appeal of adding cell service to laptops.  

doggone

No one likes the idea of paying a telecom another 10-25 a month for the privilege of accessing the internet.  I agree with the earlier statement that the cellular versions of iPads and watches don't have general utility unless you are traveling a lot.  
I wonder if Apple are planning to do a cellular access offering.  Maybe doing a deal ala Steve Jobs with AT&T and Verizon so they could offer an Apple-labeled wireless service for their devices.  This would tie into their services offerings which have been increasing revenue for the company for several years.  
I think more people would sign up for an Apple service than your wireless provider.
I, for one, would be interested in a service that you could switch on and off as needed.  It would be useful when on the road to not to have to play around with the hotspot.  For example, you open your Mac and go to surf the internet.  No access but a pop-up appears offering access for $10 for the next month.  Since it's through Apple Pay it is easy to click yes.  A month goes by and the service is off and you are not charged anything.
That would work for me.  Simple, easy to activate and relatively cheap since you are not paying the base fee.

StrangeDays

But why tho? Do that many people want to pay for an entirely different line of service, when we can just hotspot on our existing paid line? What am I missing 

Alex_V

StrangeDays said:

But why tho? Do that many people want to pay for an entirely different line of service, when we can just hotspot on our existing paid line? What am I missing 

Conditions in the market change. Remember when, back in the 1990s, Americans were lagging behind in cell phone use because of exorbitant charges? Providers can offer discounted pure data plans for devices like laptops, for example. 

nubus

Apple did test this in the past: https://appleinsider.com/articles/11/08/14/purported_macbook_pro_prototype_built_in_3g_appears_on_ebay

charlesn

My only question is why this doesn't already exist as a Macbook option with Qualcom modems that are perfectly capable of fast 5G speeds? Why does the entire range of iPad models get the option but not Macbooks, not even the Pros, when both are mobile devices? My personal, cynical, unsubstantiated view: I think it's about Apple wanting to sell you both an iPad AND a Macbook, not one or the other, and so they've kept the internal modem option as an iPad-only exclusive. There is certainly no tech reason preventing a modem in a Macbook.  

dewme

In some ways this seems long overdue but the number of use cases where this could be a game changer are dwindling because the iPhone’s hotspot feature is so seamless. I benefited greatly from having cellular capability in my iPad when I did a long stint in Singapore because I couldn’t use my company phone for tethering at the time. Being able to slip in a Singtel SIM was incredibly inexpensive and worked great. But that was way back when my personal phone was CDMA which made it useless outside of North America. 

Today everything is more universally useful and iPhones have a much better mix of radios to get connectivity in far more places. Having a cellular connection in an iPad is kind of a luxury but unfortunately Apple omits GPS capabilities in WiFi only iPads. But you can still tether. 

I can envision workers involved in field service and onsite maintenance in remote regions may benefit from have connectivity built into their MacBook with its large battery capacity without draining their iPhone’s battery. 

There are probably many other similar niche applications that would benefit from a cellular MacBook but for general use across the user base, the iPhone hotspot is working well. I’m also assuming the carriers would charge a lot more for linking a MacBook to an existing cellular plan versus an iPad, not as much for technical reasons but because they can get away with it. 

MplsP

Alex_V said:

StrangeDays said:

But why tho? Do that many people want to pay for an entirely different line of service, when we can just hotspot on our existing paid line? What am I missing 

Conditions in the market change. Remember when, back in the 1990s, Americans were lagging behind in cell phone use because of exorbitant charges? Providers can offer discounted pure data plans for devices like laptops, for example. 

There is likely a small subset of users who want cellular connectivity on their laptop but the overwhelming majority of users are not willing to pay for an extra cellular line just to avoid tethering to their phone. There are a signifiant number of cellular iPad users out there. Some of them may prefer to use a MacBook over an iPad but again, I suspect it's not a huge number. I'm with @StrangeDays, @yyzguy & @M68000  - until the carriers allow bundling I have no interest in paying an extra $30 per month just to avoid tethering.

Out of curiosity, do any PC laptop makers have a built in cellular modem? Assuming there are no royalties involved this may be a case where the incremental cost for Apple to add their own modem to every device is trivial, essentially the production cost of the chips. 

tht

I think putting optional modems in a Mac, including the desktops, is a good idea because it reduces friction to get on the Internet and therefore increases the usability of the device and the productivity of users. The big segment are obviously mobile users, but there is a segment of users who do not have WiFi at home, and all they have are their phones.

So, a Mac with a modem means this type of user can just open the box at home, be offered a plethora of Internet options, and go. They won't need to go talk to a landline ISP for it. Or, it all can be setup at the Apple Store, and they can bring it home. Same with Apple TV. Same with Vision Pro.

The assumption is that operators will offer a la carte data plans, subscriptions, time of use plans, like is done for phones. You don't need to enter a subscription contract. Just buy a TB and use it until it is gone, and then buy another TB.

Even AirPods could use a modem. At some point in time, they could be iCloud, Music, and Siri clients. You buy it, connect it to the Internet, and stream music from the clouds, or whatever audio program.

StrangeDays

Alex_V said:

StrangeDays said:

But why tho? Do that many people want to pay for an entirely different line of service, when we can just hotspot on our existing paid line? What am I missing 

Conditions in the market change. Remember when, back in the 1990s, Americans were lagging behind in cell phone use because of exorbitant charges? Providers can offer discounted pure data plans for devices like laptops, for example. 

But why would you want to pay anything, over using a no-added-cost option?

danvm

MplsP said:

Alex_V said:

StrangeDays said:

But why tho? Do that many people want to pay for an entirely different line of service, when we can just hotspot on our existing paid line? What am I missing 

Conditions in the market change. Remember when, back in the 1990s, Americans were lagging behind in cell phone use because of exorbitant charges? Providers can offer discounted pure data plans for devices like laptops, for example. 

There is likely a small subset of users who want cellular connectivity on their laptop but the overwhelming majority of users are not willing to pay for an extra cellular line just to avoid tethering to their phone. There are a signifiant number of cellular iPad users out there. Some of them may prefer to use a MacBook over an iPad but again, I suspect it's not a huge number. I'm with @StrangeDays, @yyzguy & @M68000  - until the carriers allow bundling I have no interest in paying an extra $30 per month just to avoid tethering.

Out of curiosity, do any PC laptop makers have a built in cellular modem? Assuming there are no royalties involved this may be a case where the incremental cost for Apple to add their own modem to every device is trivial, essentially the production cost of the chips. 

Some Lenovo ThinkPads and HP Elitebooks have 5G connectivity. But, at least in my customers, they don't ask for that option.

charlesn

MplsP said:

There is likely a small subset of users who want cellular connectivity on their laptop but the overwhelming majority of users are not willing to pay for an extra cellular line just to avoid tethering to their phone. 

Why would you assume it's a small subset when even the lowest end $349 iPad offers a modem option as a $150 upgrade, which is a 43% upcharge (!) PLUS the cost of a monthly data plan? Apple isn't making that available if there isn't a significant number of people buying it. If there's any group that should be content with simply tethering their iPad to their phone for cellular connectivity, it should be the group buying the cheapest iPad possible--and yet that is not the case. So I'm sure the desire for this option among Macbook users, especially the Pro crowd, would be significant--and clearly no big deal for Apple to offer it if it can do so for all six models of iPad it sells, which means dual inventory for each model. 

dewme

tht said:

I think putting optional modems in a Mac, including the desktops, is a good idea because it reduces friction to get on the Internet and therefore increases the usability of the device and the productivity of users. The big segment are obviously mobile users, but there is a segment of users who do not have WiFi at home, and all they have are their phones.

So, a Mac with a modem means this type of user can just open the box at home, be offered a plethora of Internet options, and go. They won't need to go talk to a landline ISP for it. Or, it all can be setup at the Apple Store, and they can bring it home. Same with Apple TV. Same with Vision Pro.

The assumption is that operators will offer a la carte data plans, subscriptions, time of use plans, like is done for phones. You don't need to enter a subscription contract. Just buy a TB and use it until it is gone, and then buy another TB.

Even AirPods could use a modem. At some point in time, they could be iCloud, Music, and Siri clients. You buy it, connect it to the Internet, and stream music from the clouds, or whatever audio program.

Or Apple could sell its own standalone hotspot that has additional capabilities beyond what a carrier based hotspot offers, like intrusion protection, caching, or even an optional Ethernet port to plug into a router or gateway or computer. 

freeassociate2

I think folks are forgetting a few things:
- 6G network speeds might be a compelling reason to feature this as hotel, hospital, and other hotspots still suck. 

- Additionally, iPhone hotspot throughput isn’t stellar, esp in the default low-data mode. 

- The security improvements that might be gained by cutting out attack vectors. 

- Energy consumption improvements - just drawing on one battery instead of two seems good.
- If modems are on-die, makes sense to include it on all models. Yeah? Anyone knowledgeable enough to answer that?
- Even if not wrapped into the die, prices might go down  once certain 3rd parties are removed.
- Who knows what Apple is cooking up with future network enhancements?
- Clearly they think they can get something out of this that’s worthwhile — more than just preventing Q and B from piggybacking their R&D off iPhone sales. Perhaps contributing to the standards in some way could turn Apple from a renter of IP into a landlord. 
- It’d be nice to tell Siri to do things through my AirPods, even just playing a playlist  … and not have to carry my phone everywhere or own a Watch.

Just some thoughts.