- The iPhone 18 Pro could come with a 5G satellite upgrade
- A partnership with Starlink might be in the offing
- Apple is rumored to be staggering future iPhone launches
If the rumors are to be believed, Apple could be shaking up its iPhone offerings in a pretty major way over the next few years, and the latest leak points to a notable connectivity upgrade for the iPhone 18 Pro.
We only just had the unveiling of the iPhone 17 Pro last month of course, but The Information (via 9to5Google) already has some rumored details on its successor: specifically, that 5G over satellite support could arrive as early as next year.
Upcoming iPhones, presumably led by the iPhone 18 Pro, would add support for "5G networks that aren't tethered to Earth's surface, which includes satellites" according to the sources speaking to The Information.
Starting with the iPhone 14 that launched in 2022, Apple's phones are now able to send a limited amount of emergency information across satellite networks. With full 5G support, all of the regular phone and app functions would be supported, too.
Look to the Starlinks
There's an interesting extra detail in this report from The Information: apparently SpaceX is adding support for the same radio spectrum that Globalstar uses into the new designs being worked on for its own Starlink satellites.
Globalstar is the satellite company that provides Apple with emergency satellite coverage for its iPhones (and the new Apple Watch Ultra 3). The implication is that a partnership between Apple and Starlink might not be too far off.
It's still early days for this rumor, so it's not clear how it would play out. Apple originally hinted that it would eventually start charging for satellite connectivity on its phones – although that hasn't happened yet. 5G satellite support might change that.
While specific rumors around the iPhone 18 series have been rather thin on the ground so far, it sounds increasingly likely that Apple could potentially start staggering the launches of its phones across the year, beginning in 2026.
That could mean the base iPhone 18 launching in spring 2026 and the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max launching in September 2026 as usual, though this is very much speculation at this stage.
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