Apple's next-gen iPhone 18 Pro with C2 5G modem will treat satellites like far away cell towers

Apple will reportedly provide a connectivity upgrade on its next-gen iPhone 18 series later this year, with its in-house C2 5G modem to support a new connectivity protocol that allows 5G satellite connectivity, treating the low-orbit satellite like it was a nearby cell tower.

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In a new post by Weibo tipster Fixed-focus digital cameras, the new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max smartphones will feature Apple's second-gen in-house C2 5G modem. The upgraded C2 5G baseband chip has been in development since 2025, after the iPhone 16e launched earlier in 2025, with support for mmWave and sub-6GHz networks.

However, another feature up its sleeve is that the new C2 5G modem from Apple supports NR-NTN, which is a standard that allows iPhones to connect directly to satellites for their internet connectivity. This means that future iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max users will not require an open sky to start communications, as you'll receive it when the device is either indoors, or even in your backpack.

Fixed-focus digital cameras said: "the use of low-Earth orbit satellites for direct internet access on mobile phones is a major highlight this year. Apple's C2 baseband will support NR-NTN this year. Huawei stated it conducted public testing at the end of last year, and progress in China is currently slower, but there will be good news this year, so keep an eye out".

"From this perspective, 2026 appears to be a starting point for satellite internet access for various mobile phone manufacturers".