India will get 5G on iPhones from December 2022

Mumbai, India

Apple has been having discussions with Indian carrier Bharti Airtel this week about 5G support. Carriers in the country have been rolling out 5G since October 1, 2022, and coverage is in place in eight major cities — but not on iPhones.

Users of any iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone 14, or the latest iPhone SE have 5G-capable devices, but they have not been enabled to run on Indian carriers. Previously, it was reported that Apple had been testing 5G support.

According to The Indian Express, Apple and other smartphone manufacturers have been under pressure from the country's government to support 5G.

"We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed," Apple said in a statement seen by the publication. "5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December."

Apple has not commented further, but the 5G service they receive will be the slower sub-6GHz spectrum. Currently only iPhones sold in the US support the faster mmWave 5G.