Apple Watch gives a boost to 5G RedCap, but joint efforts are still needed for its large-scale adoption.
At the Apple Fall New Product Launch in 2025, Apple launched its 5G smartwatches for the first time, including two models: Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3. Both products adopt 5G RedCap technology. As a globally renowned brand, Apple's adoption of RedCap undoubtedly provides strong endorsement for the promotion of RedCap applications, which will drive and stimulate other relevant manufacturers to adopt it. However, in the author's view, the large - scale application of RedCap covers a wide range of industries. Apple's adoption alone is not enough to form an overall and large - scale driving force. More continuous breakthroughs in various industries are needed, and we need to find similar "Apple" roles in each industry.
One Small Step for Apple, One Giant Leap for RedCap
Public information shows that the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 launched by Apple in the fall are its first smartwatches to adopt 5G technology. They use MediaTek's 5G RedCap chips, which verifies that RedCap is suitable for smart wearables in terms of network quality and power consumption. Of course, RedCap is just one of the many highlights of Apple's newly launched smartwatches this time. However, from multiple perspectives, this small step taken by Apple is actually a giant leap for the development of RedCap applications.
Firstly, it reflects Apple's firm attitude towards applying RedCap to wearable devices
Although Apple is not the first global manufacturer to adopt RedCap technology in smart wearables, it is the most active among the leading manufacturers of wearable devices. The application of RedCap highly depends on the commercialization of network infrastructure. From the current global 5G network deployment situation, the RedCap network infrastructure is still very weak. On this basis, Apple's firm application of RedCap in its latest wearable devices shows to some extent its optimism about the future of RedCap.
As is well - known, for the successful application of RedCap, the 5G network needs to support the Stand - Alone (SA) function. According to the latest data released by the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), among the 644 operators that have invested in 5G networks globally, 176 operators have started to invest in 5G SA, accounting for 27.3%. It can be seen that most global operators have not started the commercialization of 5G SA networks. Among the operators that have started to invest in 5G SA networks, many are only in the early planning and pilot stages, not real large - scale commercialization.
The deployment of 5G SA is just the first step. For the application of RedCap, the existing network also needs to be upgraded and deployed with relevant functions. GSA data shows that as of August 2025, 34 operators in 24 countries and regions are investing in RedCap, accounting for only 0.5%. Among them, T - Mobile in the United States, major operators in China, stc in Kuwait, and Dito in the Philippines have all carried out early commercialization.
The number of operators deploying RedCap is very limited, but Apple's smartwatches still adopt this technology, which shows Apple's firm attitude towards applying RedCap to wearable devices. Of course, in areas where the RedCap function is not deployed, the smartwatch communication can fall back to the LTE network without affecting the use of the watch.
Secondly, it fulfills the promise made when formulating the RedCap standard
In the discussion of the research direction of 3GPP R17, representatives of various manufacturers put forward the research intention of RedCap. Regarding the discussion of application scenarios, all relevant parties agreed that three scenarios are suitable for the application of RedCap, including industrial wireless sensors, smart city video surveillance, and wearable devices. Among them, for wearable devices, 3GPP proposed that the reference bandwidth for this application is 5 - 50Mbps for downlink and 2 - 5Mbps for uplink, with a peak rate of up to 150Mbps for downlink and up to 50Mbps for uplink. The device's battery should be able to last for several days (up to 1 - 2 weeks).
As a key scenario proposed when formulating the 3GPP standard, wearable devices have always received high attention from the industry. The adoption of RedCap in Apple's newly launched smartwatches this time forms a typical demonstration effect. To a large extent, it is the best response to the scenario planning when formulating the 3GPP standard, which can be said to fulfill the promise made when formulating the standard and provide support for the transformation and future evolution of the entire RedCap standard.
Thirdly, it drives the growth of the scale of RedCap consumer - level applications
Data shows that in the second quarter of 2025, the global shipments of Apple Watches were 7.4 million units, a year - on - year increase of 28.8%. Counterpoint data shows that in the second quarter of 2025, the global shipments of smartwatches increased by 8% year - on - year. Among them, the shipments of Apple smartwatches accounted for 13%. Huawei's shipments in the second quarter increased by as much as 52% year - on - year, accounting for 21% of the global market share, surpassing Apple for the first time to become the world's largest in terms of shipments. Xiaomi accounted for 9%, ranking third.
Although Apple's shipments have declined, as a leading brand, it still has a strong influence in the entire smart wearable market. Many of Apple's previous practices have led the smart wearable industry, and other manufacturers have followed suit. Apple's adoption of RedCap in its smartwatches this time is expected to have a positive impact on other manufacturers in the industry. In the future, when other wearable brands launch cellular functions, they will probably also consider adopting RedCap.
From the public data, smartwatches, as consumer - level Internet of Things products, have achieved large - scale shipments. The annual global shipments of smartwatches exceed 100 million units, and a considerable part of them have cellular IoT functions. Driven by large - scale shipments, RedCap has achieved large - scale application scenarios in smartwatches, further reducing the cost of RedCap chips and modules and promoting the application of RedCap in other consumer - level Internet of Things products. For example, currently, many manufacturers are promoting and exploring the application of RedCap in lightweight AR and VR devices.
However, Apple is not the "savior" of RedCap. The large - scale application of RedCap requires the efforts of multiple parties
Although Apple Watches' support for RedCap can drive the application of consumer - level products, RedCap is aimed at all industries, and the implementation of applications in each industry needs to break through a large number of barriers. Therefore, in the author's view, Apple's support is not enough to drive the overall and large - scale application of RedCap.
There are great differences between consumer - level products and industrial application - level products in the adoption of new technologies. Consumer - level products are updated relatively quickly. Each new generation of products needs some new highlights to attract consumers to pay, so new technologies will be continuously applied to new - generation products. Industrial applications need reliable and low - cost digital technologies for empowerment, and more factors need to be considered, so they do not necessarily adopt the latest technologies.
The author has written many articles pointing out that the application of RedCap can be divided into three stages: In the first stage, it is mainly applied to 5G native application scenarios; in the second stage, it is accelerated to be applied to medium - speed scenarios and has the potential to replace 4G IoT; in the third stage, it has obvious advantages over 4G IoT, accelerates the replacement, and becomes the main player in cellular connections.
Currently, the focus of promoting RedCap should be on 5G native application scenarios. The author believes that in the future, efforts can be made in two aspects: 5G native application scenarios and 5G private networks, especially the 5G private network field can be a key area for efforts. Public data shows that as of August 2025, 64,000 5G industry virtual private networks have been built nationwide. 5G private networks have been integrated into 86 major national economic industries, covering core links such as R & D and design, production and manufacturing, and operation and maintenance services, with the number of application cases exceeding 138,000. Among them, the number of "5G + Industrial Internet" construction projects has exceeded 20,000, and the projects in the production field account for more than 86% of the major industries. In these private network environments, core equipment and assets need to be connected through the 5G network. Customers need a secure and isolated private network environment to ensure that data does not leave restricted areas such as factories and parks, and 4G devices cannot be connected. Vigorously developing IoT connections in private network environments is an important task, and RedCap is the key to completing this task.
In addition, the integration of RedCap with new industrial fields can form diverse demonstration effects. The author believes that on the one hand, attention can be focused on the "5G in vehicles" field, that is, the adoption of RedCap in intelligent connected vehicles. Currently, intelligent connected vehicles mainly use 4G cellular networks. Against the background of the continuous upgrade of RedCap functions in the domestic 5G network, RedCap has an obvious supporting role for intelligent connected vehicles. Considering that the lifecycle of many vehicles exceeds 10 years, it is necessary to deploy cellular network functions for the future. At this time, RedCap has advantages in terms of cost and network evolution and can be an important choice for "5G in vehicles". On the other hand, integrating into the "Artificial Intelligence +" field to explore more AI usage scenarios. For example, recently, NVIDIA released its new - generation computing platform NVIDIA Jetson Thor designed for physical AI and humanoid robots, which has completed the verification with Telit Cinterion's 5G RedCap module. RedCap will be an important way for external communication of NVIDIA's humanoid robot platform.
In summary, Apple's support brings broad space for the commercial expansion of 5G RedCap. However, the prosperity of RedCap is not only in the consumer field but also requires the joint efforts of various industries. It is expected that the industry can summarize past development experience, build consensus, and form a joint force to jointly promote the prosperity of the Internet of Things ecosystem.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Internet of Things Think Tank" (ID: iot101). The author is Zhao Xiaofei. It is published by 36Kr with permission.