據知情人士透露，手機制造商蘋果的一個秘密團隊正在研究衛星技術，該技術可以繞過無線網絡，直接向設備發送互聯網服務。

上述要求匿名的知情人士表示，位于加州庫比蒂諾的蘋果公司有來自航空航天、衛星和天線設計領域的十余名工程師參與這個項目，他們的目標是在五年內完成項目成果部署。該項目仍然處于早期階段，中途可能會被中斷，而且衛星開發的明確方向和用途還沒有最終確定。盡管如此，蘋果的首席執行官蒂姆·庫克對該項目表現出了興趣，表示這是公司的優先事項。

蘋果在通信衛星和下一代無線技術領域的研發努力說明，其目標可能是向用戶設備發送數據，以減輕對無線運營商的依賴，或在沒有傳統網絡的情況下實現設備連接。蘋果還可以通過對衛星領域的探索，更精準地追蹤蘋果設備的定位，從而改進蘋果地圖，開發新功能。

目前還不清楚蘋果公司是打算自己進行耗資巨大的衛星群開發，還是僅僅利用地面設備將現有衛星的數據發送到移動設備上。全球最大的衛星制造商包括諾斯羅普·格魯曼公司、洛克希德·馬丁公司和波音公司等。蘋果發言人拒絕置評。

亞馬遜公司計劃在未來部署3000多顆衛星，作為其衛星星群的一部分。然而，這個行業充滿了失敗的案例。1999年，銥星公司申請破產保護；十幾年前，泰利迪斯放棄了“空中互聯網”計劃。新近投身于該領域的Facebook、SpaceX和亞馬遜離實現創收還有很長的路要走，而蘋果很少在沒有明確賺錢路徑的情況下進入新領域。

衛星專家、TMF Associates的負責人蒂姆·法勒說：“銥星公司、全球星和泰利迪斯這些公司的失敗教訓表明，耗資數十億美元的衛星通信項目很難找到可行的商業計劃。”

最近幾個月，蘋果開始為該團隊招聘新的軟硬件專家，尋找有通信設備組件設計經驗的工程師。該公司還專門從航空航天和無線數據傳輸領域招聘了高管。

該團隊由邁克爾·特里拉和約翰·芬威克領導，他們曾經是航空工程師，曾在衛星成像公司Skybox Imaging 2014年賣給谷歌前協助管理公司。彭博新聞社當時報道，兩人曾經在谷歌主管衛星和宇宙飛船業務，直到2017年一起離開，開始在蘋果從事新項目。

邁克爾·特里拉和約翰·芬威克在蘋果頭一年半的時間里，探索了開發衛星技術的可行性，弄明白了他們想要解決的問題。最近幾個月，他們已經開始加速推進。今年早些時候，該項目遭遇了一些挫折，因為項目的前任領導、2016年入職的格雷格·達菲離開了蘋果公司。達菲是2014年被谷歌收購的攝影類創業公司Dropcam的聯合創始人，其直屬上司是蘋果公司的硬件工程高級副總裁丹·里奇奧。

達菲的領英資料顯示，他曾經從事涉及“衛星通信、無線和家庭產品/技術”的項目。他拒絕評論自己在蘋果的具體工作。

特里拉和芬威克仍然在蘋果的硬件工程部工作，他們的直屬領導是里奇奧負責iPhone工程的副手。

熟悉該團隊的人士說，該團隊最近增加了來自無線行業的人員，其中包括工程師馬特·艾特斯，協助領導該項目。艾特斯是無線技術領域最響亮的幾個名字之一，曾經創立艾特斯研究公司，該公司為美國國家儀器公司所有，主要銷售無線網絡設備。

蘋果還聘請了艾西利·摩爾·威廉姆斯和丹尼爾·埃利斯，前者曾經長期擔任主營通信衛星業務的航空航天公司的高管，后者曾經在奈飛擔任高管，主管公司的內容發布網絡(Content Delivery Network，簡稱CDN)。埃利斯在建立能夠在全球范圍內進行內容和信息傳播的網絡方面經驗豐富。

衛星技術是蘋果公司正在進行的幾個“特殊項目”之一。蘋果公司的“特殊項目”指的是正在進行中的“臭鼬工廠”項目或重要新產品的開發。

彭博社此前曾經報道，蘋果正在研發的還包括：最早將于2021年上市的虛擬現實耳機、將在此之后推出的增強現實眼鏡、用于未來新產品的MicroLED屏幕、新的家居產品、無人駕駛汽車技術以及能夠分析用戶的血液化學成分以確定其血糖水平的新蘋果手表。蘋果還在擴大其自主芯片的研發，以期取代其Mac電腦處理器制造商英特爾，以及手機調制解調器組件供應商英特爾和高通。

蘋果公司的文件顯示，在庫克的領導下，蘋果迅速擴大了研發預算，2019財年支出了160億美元，較上年增長14%。蘋果的主要目標之一是，更多地自主完成其產品背后的技術，這也是衛星技術最終要實現的目標。（財富中文網）

譯者：Agatha

Apple has a secret team working on satellite technology that the iPhone maker could use to beam internet services directly to devices, bypassing wireless networks, according to people familiar with the work.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based iPhone maker has about a dozen engineers from the aerospace, satellite, and antenna design industries working on the project with the goal of deploying their results within five years, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal company efforts. Work on the project is still early and could be abandoned, the people said, and a clear direction and use for satellites hasn’t been finalized. Still, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has shown interest in the project, indicating it’s a company priority.

Apple’s work on communications satellites and next-generation wireless technology means the aim is likely to beam data to a user’s device, potentially mitigating the dependence on wireless carriers, or for linking devices together without a traditional network. Apple could also be exploring satellites for more precise location tracking for its devices, enabling improved maps and new features.

It’s not clear if Apple intends to pursue the costly development of a satellite constellation itself or simply harness on-the-ground equipment that would take data from existing satellites and send it to mobile devices. Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing are some of the biggest satellite makers. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Amazon plans to deploy more than 3,000 satellites as part of a future constellation. However, the industry is littered with failures. Iridium filed for bankruptcy protection in 1999, and Teledesic abandoned its “internet from the sky” plan more than a decade ago. Newer efforts from Facebook, SpaceX, and Amazon are a long way from generating revenue, and Apple rarely enters new categories without a clear way to make money.

“The lessons of prior failures like Iridium, Globalstar, and Teledesic are that it’s really hard to find a viable business plan for multibillion-dollar satellite communications projects,” said Tim Farrar, a satellite expert and principal at TMF associates.

In recent months, Apple has started hiring new software and hardware experts for the team, seeking engineers with experience in designing components for communications equipment. The company has also hired additional executives from the aerospace and wireless data delivery fields.

The team is led by Michael Trela and John Fenwick, former aerospace engineers who helped lead satellite imaging company Skybox Imaging before it sold to Google in 2014. The pair led Google’s satellite and spacecraft operations until leaving together in 2017 to begin a new initiative at Apple, Bloomberg News reported at the time.

During their first year and a half at Apple, Trela and Fenwick explored the feasibility of developing satellite technology and understanding the problem they want to solve, and in recent months have started intensifying work on the project. The effort suffered a setback earlier this year when its previous leader, Greg Duffy, left Apple after joining in 2016. Duffy, the co-founder of camera startup Dropcam, which Google acquired in 2014, reported to Dan Riccio, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering.

On his LinkedIn profile, Duffy said he worked on projects involving “satellite communications, wireless, and home products/technologies.” He declined to comment more specifically on his work at Apple.

Trela and Fenwick still work within Apple’s hardware engineering division, but now report to Riccio’s lieutenant in charge of iPhone engineering.

The team has recently added people from the wireless industry, including engineer Matt Ettus, who now helps lead the initiative, people familiar with the team said. Ettus is one of the foremost names in wireless technologies and created Ettus Research, a National Instruments-owned firm that sells wireless networking equipment.

Apple has also hired Ashley Moore Williams, a longtime executive from Aerospace Corp. who focused on communication satellites, and Daniel Ellis, a former Netflix executive who helped oversee the company’s Content Delivery Network, or CDN. Ellis has experience in building networks that can beam content and information on a global scale.

The work on satellite technology is one of several “special projects”—an Apple term for skunkworks initiatives or development of major new product categories—under way at the company.

As Bloomberg has previously reported, Apple also is working on a virtual reality headset to debut as early as 2021, augmented reality glasses for launch after that, MicroLED screens for future devices, new home products, self-driving car technology and a future Apple Watch that can analyze a user’s blood chemistry to determine glucose levels. Apple is also expanding its in-house chip development, seeking to replace Intel as its Mac processor maker, and Intel and Qualcomm as the providers of its modem component for phones.

Under Cook, Apple has rapidly expanded its research and development budget, spending $16 billion in the 2019 fiscal year, an increase of 14% from the prior year, according to company filings. One of Apple’s primary goals is to bring more of the technology behind its products in house, which is what work on satellites could eventually enable.