Apple’s ultra-fast 5G ‘iPhone 12’ might be released in 2020 after all – and could let you FaceTime in 4K
It's upgrade time...
APPLE could end up launching an ultra-fast 5G iPhone next year after all, according to new reports.
The company recently ended a multi-year legal battle with the world's top 5G chipmaker – giving hope for an iPhone imminently.
We've already seen several 5G smartphones announced this year, including the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X.
But recent rumours suggested Apple wouldn't launch a 5G iPhone until 2021 at the earliest.
Just this month, expert analyst Timothy Arcuri blamed Intel – Apple's chosen chipmaker at the time – for being too slow at creating a 5G modem for the iPhone.
And a partnership with 5G boffins at California's Qualcomm seemed off the table due to long-running legal warfare – until this week.
After furiously clashing in courts over technology designs, Apple and Qualcomm settled their longstanding beef.
This now means there's hope for Apple to use Qualcomm's impressive 5G chips in future iPhone models.
According to one insider speaking to , Apple has now struck a six-year licensing agreement with Qualcomm that will "ensure the launch of the first 5G iPhone in 2020".
Supporting the theory is the fact that Intel just announced it would stop work on 5G smartphone chips.
This means Apple wouldn't be able to use a 5G Intel modem in the iPhone even if it wanted to.
How fast will 5G be?
Here's what you need to know...
- 5G handsets will provide significantly faster internet speeds than modern handsets.
- Some users will be able to download several gigabits of data every second.
- At speeds of 1 gigabit-per-second, it would take eight seconds to download 1 gigabyte of data.
- Netflix says 4K video takes up about 7 gigabytes of space per hour of footage.
- So downloading an hour-and-a-half Netflix film in 4K to watch offline would require roughly 10GB of space.
- With a 5G connection, that would take just 1 minute and 20 seconds.
- And regular HD footage takes up about 3GB of footage per hour, so the same movie could be nabbed in High Definition roughly half the time.
- Qualcomm says one of its 5G chips – the Snapdragon X50 – promises around 4.5 gigabits-per-second speeds, based on testing.
- That could cut a 4K movie download down to around 20 seconds, if networks can beam those sorts of speeds to actual users.
Earlier this year, analysts warned that missing out on a 5G iPhone in 2020 would be for Apple.
"Not having a 5G-capable iPhone in 2019 won’t be an issue for Apple," expert Ben Wood, of CCS Insight, told The Sun.
"There will be a negligible number of 5G-capable smartphones sold this year and at CCS Insight we are forecasting sales will be less than 10 million units.
"However, we are forecasting that the volume ramps up to over 200 million units in 2020, and this is where not having a 5G capable device could be a pain-point for Apple.”
"Given Apple never comments on future product plans, it is impossible to get a handle on whether it is going to have a 5G iPhone in 2020 or not. Although Intel remains adamant it will have a 5G solution, there is growing concern about when the fully commercial product will arrive.”
"It would be negative for the overall growth of 5G if Apple was unable to deliver a 5G iPhone in 2020.
"Operators are investing billions in rolling out 5G networks and they need all the leading smartphone makers to support them, particularly in markets like the UK where the iPhone is so popular."
Earlier this year, Qualcomm exec Jim Tran subtly slammed Apple over the delay.
"If you’re going to bring a device in 2020, you’re definitely going to be late for 5G,” blasted Jim Tran, who heads up handset tech at Qualcomm," he told CES 2019 tech show attendees.
“We’re ready to take consumers to a new age of 5G,” told reporters at the CES 2019 tech show in Las Vegas.
“5G will be a reality in 2019. There are over 20 plus operators committed to working with Qualcomm to deliver this to consumers.”
5G is expected to deliver significant boosts to smartphone internet speeds.
“You’ll be able to have 8K video streaming, where today you might only have 720p [screen resolution],” explained Tran.
“You’ll be able to download 4K movies in seconds.”
It would also make high-quality streaming – and even 4K FaceTime video calling – possible on the move.
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Would you be interested in an ultra-fast 5G iPhone? Let us know in the comments!
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