Apple Confirms iPhone 11 Uses Data From China's BeiDou Satellite System

Cupertino tech giant Apple Inc. was thrust into the limelight in one case once again last week as the The states authorities enacted a ban on Chinese messaging and video applications TikTok and WeChat. Following the ban, analysts speculated that if the U.S. regime as well forced Apple to remove WeChat from the iPhone, Apple'due south iPhone in China would lose a major attractiveness signal for the Chinese consumer, given WeChat's pervasiveness in Cathay'south technological landscape and everyday lifestyle.

Additionally, post-obit comments by Mr. Ran Chengqi, who heads China's Satellite Navigation Function (CSNO) responsible for operating the BeiDouSatellite Navigation Experimental System, stating that Apple should introduce Beidou compatibility with the iPhone, the company confirmed in a statement made to the Global Times last week that the latest versions of the smartphone exercise apply data from Beidou for determining location.

Apple's Comments Come Following Speculation That Visitor Would Support Satellite Network With Its Smartphones

Apple'due south statement to the publication came after Mr. Chengqi commented on the state of the Chinese smartphone eco-system and its support for BeiDou. The official stated to local publication China Concern News that an unabridged ecosystem of component manufacturers and suppliers has built upward to enable devices connectivity with the navigation network. He added that manufacturer back up for the network is based on BeiDou'due south performance-related merit and that Apple tree would sooner or later on make the switch owing to these benefits.

To that end, the company stated to the GlobalTimes that, "iPhone xi models utilise Beidou as part of its location data arrangement." Nonetheless, even as Apple confirms that the latest iPhones do rely on the Chinese network'south data for their location-based features, the company'due south Chinese website does not list support for the network.

The website lists congenital-in support for the American Global Positioning System (GPS) operated free of charge past the Department of Defense (DoD) through the United States Space Force (USSF) and the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The GNSS includes coverage from GPS, the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) and BeiDou.

Screengrab from the iPhone 11 lineup's specifications page as institute on Apple.com.cn. The image shows that the smartphones do non directly support the Chinese BeiDou satellite navigation network.

Given that the iPhone 11 lineup'due south technical specifications do not directly mention BeiDou support, Apple's statement likely covers support for the network through the GNSS. Withal, the fact that the visitor specifically mentioned only concluding yr's iPhones 11 as supporting the network and non older models is also striking since technical specifications for previous devices also list GNSS support.

Taking these 2 facts to achieve a conclusion, in all likelihood it's possible that Apple has recently added BeiDou compatibility with GNSS support in the iPhone. Notwithstanding, disallowment whatever official confirmations nigh this fact, readers are reminded to treat this solely as a piece of conjecture for the fourth dimension existence.

Apple's potential troubles in Communist china come up at a time when the company is recovering from the bear on of the coronavirus. Apple tree, which posted record revenues during its terminal quarter still just managed to sequentially abound revenues by a hairline. Reduced foot traffic in the company'due south retail outlets and an overall drop in purchasing power saw Apple'south high-margin hardware sales drop, fifty-fifty as information technology sought to diversify the price points of its mobile offerings to target upkeep-conscious customers and educational utilise.

Mr. Chengqi's comments besides injected the media with fresh speculation well-nigh Apple's upcoming smartphone launches and the devices' back up for the Chinese network. Given the company's statement on the matter, information technology'southward highly likely that the new devices maintain their predecessor'southward technical support for BeiDou. Apple tree has previously been rumored to exclude the network from the iPhone due to performance constraints and the upcoming iPhone launch will reveal if the visitor has changed its listen.