The most recent reports regarding Apple’s launch of its iPhone 5G modem imply that the company could, in fact, release the modem by 2022, and not by 2020, as many speculations suggested.
A recent source claimed that the iPhone creator is somehow behind schedule. Apple is allegedly accelerating the development, testing, and certification work associated with the modem. Currently, Apple is sourcing its iPhone 5G modems from the renown Qualcomm, after they solved their legal issues.
Apple’s Temporary Collaboration With Intel
Intel was Apple’s source collaborator for 5G modems until not long ago. However, Intel, allegedly, did not manage to meet the developmental deadlines Apple requested. All iPhones, together with the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, sport Intel modems that have individual chips on the logic board.
Back in July, Apple bought Intel’s smartphone modem business for $1 billion, and the process should be completed by the end of this year.
The Cupertino-based company is presently in a six-year contract with Qualcomm after they sorted out their legal issues. During this time, Apple can slowly create and test the performance of its internal modem it is developing after purchasing Intel’s modem business. It can also try the system on affordable iPhone models, and use Qualcomm’s modems for its top-of-the-line devices.
How Is Apple Managing The 5G Modem Designing?
The tech giant does have some history with chip designing. The iPhone and the iPad are powered by Apple’s A-series chipsets. It also develops S-series processors for Apple Watch, and the UI chip for iPhone 11.
Even so, modem chip design is another story altogether. The testing procedure and conformity verification with global regulatory agencies could be a bit burdensome. The source we mentioned above suggests that Apple might not have a practical view of the schedule for the modem chip completion.
There is so much to be done, and 2022 seems more like a possible deadline. The source also believes that 2023 is a somewhat reasonable timeline. Renown Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also agreed with this, saying that all iPhones would come with 5G support by 2021. He also added that Apple could have its own 5G processor by the year 2023.
Could 5G Be A Game-Changer For All iPhones?
Industry experts and market observers are excitedly awaiting the launch of the 5G iPhone. First and foremost, 5G is set to be a game-changer for smartphones, and there is also a huge amount of money going into this space. Last month, Jefferies analysts argued that Apple would be capable of achieving product differentiation with its forthcoming 5G iPhone, and also attract more customers.
However, there are other experts that have a different opinion on this. On October 8th, Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall said that customers would not see much difference in 5G smartphones. Hall also added that the technology would not bring a lot to the iPhone.
If specialists’ speculations are trustworthy, 2020 should be a turning point for Apple. We are extremely interested to see how soon Apple creates its own 5G modem.
