Apple wants to Use Satellites for Internet Connection. Apple wants iPhones, iPads and other devices to be able to connect to the internet directly via dedicated satellites in a few years.
The network should be ready within five years. It is not clear whether Apple wants to develop satellites itself, or whether the company focuses on technology to make use of the satellites of others.
The project is still in its infancy, reports Bloomberg news agency, but CEO Tim Cook would see it as a priority.
SpaceX, the space company of businessman Elon Musk, already has a similar project. That is called Starlink.
More than a hundred small satellites have already been launched in the last few months and should be over 10,000. The satellites must ensure fast internet on earth and in the long term also in space. Amazon and Facebook are also working on internet satellites.
The Apple project is led by Michael Trela and John Fenwick. They were previously at the helm of Skybox Imaging, which mapped the earth from space. It was sold to Google in 2014.