'iPhone 13' to bring mmWave 5G to more countries

Although Apple introduced 5G technology across the entire iPhone 12 range as had long been predicted, there was one surprising omission. Apple iPhones sold outside the US were denied the ultra-fast mmWave version.

Now that's expected to change with the next iPhone bringing mmWave to at least some models. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that mmWave 5G iPhones currently represent around a third of all iPhone 12 sales, but will close to double with the next models.

"The mmWave model of the iPhone 12 only supports the US market, and the shipment allocation of the total iPhone 12 is about 30-35%," writes Kuo. "We predict that the iPhone 13 mmWave models will be available in more countries (e.g., Canada, Japan, Australia, and major European mobile operators), so the shipment allocation of iPhone 13 mmWave models will increase substantially to 55-60%."

Kuo says this is due to the international expansion of mmWave 5G. He also expects that "mmWave will create more diverse applications" because of its significantly faster speed.

Previously, Kuo has predicted that Apple would sell fewer mmWave 5G iPhones than originally expected, because of the coronavirus. "We believe that due to the impact of COVID-19, the [number of] global 5G millimeter wave base station[s] [will be] lower than expected," Kuo wrote in September 2020.

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