Is it time for Apple to introduce 5G Macs?

Apple might introduce the first cellular-enabled MacBook model this year, according to a Bloomberg report (confirmed by Macworld) that claims the company began exploring the possibility in late 2024. Who would this benefit? How good an experience would it provide? And why is now (potentially) the right time for the company to make such a move?

Who would cellular Macs benefit?

The promise of cellular Macs is a good one. Equipped with cellular modems, these machines would liberate mobile professionals from searching for more secure communications and/or more bandwidth than you usually get over public Wi-Fi networks. Just like cellular on an iPhone or iPad, you should be able to work from anywhere and never be without a connection.

There are other advantages, particularly for enterprise professionals or companies using highly secure 5G-based private networks. Apple’s modems support 5G Network Slicing, which means they already support such deployments on iPhones, so there’s no reason Macs would not support this, too. That promise brings the highest quality secure mobile bandwidth to Mac-using pros.

It’s not as if you are unable to get your Mac online using your mobile network, as you can tether your system to your iPhone to do so. This is fine for most users, most of the time, offering some of the convenience of an always-available mobile connection.

There are drawbacks, however: the connection can at times be slow or inconsistent, your carrier needs to support such use, and tethering eats up iPhone battery life. A Mac equipped with its own cellular connection should deliver more consistent connections and leave your iPhone battery untouched. It should also be more able to move big chunks of data around in comparison to the limits sometimes set by public networks.

What about the user experience?

Apple has always understood that between the idea and reality you’ll find shadow; this could be particularly true when it comes to shipping Macs equipped with built-in cellular modems. These would suffer from all the challenges we already get using cellular connections. 

If you’ve ever travelled, you will likely have encountered poor cellular performance on trains (mainly because of the metal-coating on the windows), sketchy cellular connections depending on where you live in a city or town, and literal dead network zones inside some buildings. These challenges won’t disappear just because you’re using a cellular Mac. Those obstacles exist. This is the shadow — between user expectation and reality — that might have kept Apple from introducing cellular connections in Macs so far. 

Another problem is cost. Apple’s decision to create its own 5G modems wasn’t entirely based on its desire to own all the tech used in its products; it also reflected its dissatisfaction with the high prices modem supplier Qualcomm demanded for use of its radios in Apple devices.  The potential benefits to mobile professionals just didn’t justify hiking the cost of Macs to everybody else.

Why now?

Apple now makes its own 5G modems, so it’s reasonable to think it could put these inside Macs at a more acceptable cost. Apple also owns the whole stack, which means the 5G modem should work happily alongside other networking features — Bluetooth, Wi-Fi — on Macs. 

Tie this up with eSIM technologies and you end up with a Mac you can get online almost anywhere. Presumably you’ll even be able to send messages via satellite directly from your Mac or make use of any additional satellite-based networking services Apple delivers in the future.

That the company also makes the processors inside Macs should help build efficiency, reducing unnecessary energy drain. In other words, the sublime combination of Apple’s processor and networking silicon designs along with the Apple-created operating system makes a cellular Mac more possible than ever. 

It also gives Apple an option to upsell to customers, just as it presently sells iPads equipped with cellular connections for an additional charge. Given the economic calamities the company continues to navigate, it might be that the potential business opportunity is the main reason the company is considering the move. (Never let it be said that Apple management easily resists an opportunity to boost revenue by giving customers more of what they need.)

Will Apple introduce a cellular Mac?

 The future is hard to predict. But it’s worth noting that in 2024, over 45% of Fortune 500 companies issued cellular-connected laptops to employees, up from 28% in 2022. Given Apple’s growth in the enterprise sector, why would it fail to offer cellular Macs as a purchasable BTO option for business customers?

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