Malcolm Owen
Apple will be producing a 5G iPhone by 2020, TF International Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo believes, but Apple could complete development of its own 5G modem and do without Qualcomm's version by 2022 or 2023.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that while Apple's first 5G iPhones will have a Qualcomm modem. Kuo suggests that Apple's 5G modem could launch in an iPhone in 2022 or 2023.
"We believe that the content of Apple and Qualcomm's previous settlement includes Qualcomm's release of partly 5G baseband chip source code to Apple for Apple's development of its own 5G PA/FEM," Kuo writes.
For Qualcomm's modem, Apple is thought to use its self-designed power amplifier and front-end module, instead of Qualcomm's RF360 By using its own modified amplifier and module, Apple can lay the groundwork to more easily add its own version in a future update to the product line.
A two-year supply deal with Broadcom is thought to help by modifying the 4G power amplifier for 5G usage, as well as helping Apple develop the 5G baseband chip itself.
It is thought the 5G iPhone will support both sub-6GHz and frequencies above 6Ghz, due to the US being Apple's home market. The mainstream technology for 5G in the United States is said to be mmWave, which would require the higher-than-6GHz frequencies to be supported, making a sub-6GHz-only iPhone unlikely.
For the 2020 iPhones, Kuo thinks they will consist of a high-end 6.7-inch OLED model along with a 5.4-inch OLED and low-end 6.1-inch OLED version. Of the three, the 6.7-inch and 5.4-inch will likely support 5G while the third will stick to 4G technologies.
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28 Comments
And by 2022 5G might be out where I live. Heck we just got reliable 4G LTE. So I’m going to worry about 5G on the phone AFTER the one I get later this year.
This 5G hubbub is similar to the Samsung Fold. The fake techies will hammer Apple over it but in truth it won’t be until 2022 that 5G is widely available. And I still don’t understand why a mobile phone would need that kind of speed other than because it can.
As more devices move to 5G, it will free up the 4G space, essentially helping those devices operate with a faster connection than before.
Cool. By then we'll have 7H or 9J.
I've known Apple over the decades, the first version is going to have a lot of problems.
I'll want to get the last iPhone with a QCOM 5G modem in it and stick with it while Apple works out the bugs.
You guys can beta test for AAPL.