5G is the biggest mobile tech story of the year. Major networks in the US, UK and Europe have launched 5G services, and you don't have to be a hedge fund manager to afford them. But Apple has not joined in with the vast amount of other manufacturers offering 5G phones.
None of its handsets - including the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max - offer 5G.
Why Apple doesn't release 5G iPhone now
1.Apple and Qualcomm and 5G modem
Most of today's 5G phones use a 5G modem called the Snapdragon X50 or Snapdragon X55. And most have a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset too.
Apple tried to switch to Intel modems instead of Qualcomm ones in the 2018 generation of iPhones. It used an Intel XMM 7560 modem in the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, following an Apple-Qualcomm ruckus that goes back years.
Apple sued Qualcomm for $1 billion in 2017, claiming the company was charging unfair royalties, which it had to pay for every iPhone produced. Qualcomm counter-sued, claiming Apple gave trade secrets away to Intel, which Apple was trying to mold into a workable (and presumably cheaper) modem-producing alternative.
Apple was in a heated fight with the leading light of 5G, trying to do what it always does: 'owning' the tech in its phones. But the whole situation seemingly deflated entirely in April 2019.
The multitudinous Qualcomm-Apple lawsuits were all dropped in April 2019, after Apple agreed to pay $4.5 billion to Qualcomm. This may make it sound like the two companies hugged, made up, and planned to walk off hand-in-hand into the 5G sunset. But that does not seem to be the case.
Right as the legal action between Apple and Qualcomm was settled, Intel's 5G phone operation went dark. It announced its intention to leave the 5G phone modem business altogether, to focus on 5G in other devices like PCs and Internet of Things gadgets.
But it seems this was preparation for Apple's buy-out of Intel's 5G phone modem business, which was announced in July 2019.
This helps explain Apple's $4.5 billion payout to Qualcomm. It paid for the rights to use Qualcomm technologies in what will presumably be Apple own brand 5G modems. But it couldn't work this out in time to make a 5G phone in 2019.
2.Different shades of 5G
What are those spectrum characteristics? 5G is a bundle of different technologies and standards, not one. Some networks in the US use different ones to those seen in the UK, for example.
The US government is keen on networks using 'millimeter-wave' 5G. This is the fastest kind of 5G, but its range is shorter than the style of 5G currently used in UK, which uses frequency bands much closer to those of today's 4G services.
An Apple 5G modem needs to support both of these. 5G is devilishly complicated. Qualcomm's X50 modem, used in many of today's 5G phones, does support both styles, but Apple is currently left playing catch-up.
We currently don't know for sure if Apple's first 5G phones will use Qualcomm modems or Intel-tech-soaked Apple ones, but there's more work to be done either way.
How much time does Apple have to do it? Apple needs to announce a 5G iPhone by the time 5G isn't restricted to ultra-high-end Android phones, by the time 5G seems 'normal' to us phone buyers.
When will 5G iphone be released?
If so, then we'll likely see the first 5G iPhone in September, as Apple releases new entries in its main flagship range in September each year. Having said that, the coronavirus may have slowed things down, which could mean a delay of a month or two until October or November.
But elsewhere we've heard that manufacturing is more or less on track, so we're not sure what's true right now.
It's worth noting though that the presence of 5G in 2020's iPhone models is just a rumor for now. it's very, very likely, but not guaranteed, so there's an outside chance we'll be waiting until 2021.
At the same time, many manufacturers have produced 5G mobile phones, such as Huawei, Samsung, OPPO, LG, Sony, Nokia, OnePlus and more have all made 5G. And while withered HTC seems to have put its money on blockchain rather than 5G (that's right, it really did make a 'blockchain phone'), even it has made a 5G hub, with a 5G handset now in the works too.
Buy the way, you can check the price of Huawei 5G Phone, OPPO 5G Phone, Vivo 5G Phone, Samsung 5G Phone, Xiaomi 5G Phone, ZTE 5G Phone, OnePlus 5G Phone ect.
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