Apple is secretly working on wireless tech that uses satellites to beam data directly to its devices

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According to a report in Bloomberg, Apple is working on its own satellite systems to connect your plethora of Apple products directly to the internet, among other things. The “secret” team has been working together since 2017 and has recently been expanding with new software and hardware experts.

Is this the start of Apple-branded iNternet?

Apple is working on its own satellites to beam data down to your iPhone

The famous “walled garden” of the company’s ecosystem might be getting a new trick, with a team working on satellite communication to directly provide connectivity to your devices.

That could mean anything from internet directly from Apple, iMessage that works anywhere on the globe, or even future Sat-iPhones that could be used where there are no normal cellular networks.

• The satellites (or network) could be launched in the next five years
• The team is headed by ex-Skybox Imaging lead engineers before it sold to Google in 2014
• Around a dozen engineers from the aerospace, satellite and antenna design industries, and also from the wireless industry, comprise the rest of the group
• This is just one of the company’s special products groups, which are working on everything from virtual reality headsets, to self-driving cars, to a future Apple Watch that could monitor the user’s glucose levels

Apple rarely does anything it doesn’t see profit potential in, so expect the satellite internet business to boom at around the time of Apple’s planned rollout.

What do you think? Would you be interested in an Apple-like internet? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.