5G iPhone? Not for this year
Apple is unlikely to release an iPhone that’s capable of handling 5G communications this year. The news comes off the back of the announcement that Apple and Qualcomm have resolved their two-year legal battle – opening the door for the pair to work together again.
Apple v Qualcomm
My advice is not to read too much into the ins and outs of this case. A technology company taking a rival to court is nothing new. Apple and Samsung famously had a dispute over patents that lasted seven years. This is comparatively short.
The latest billion-dollar legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm was over licensing fees. Apple claimed that Qualcomm was engaging in anti-competitive practices – unfairly inflating the price of its chipsets for Apple.
Qualcomm argued that its technology is what made the iPhone possible; therefore it should profit from its innovation. Anyway…
On Tuesday this legal battle came to an unexpected and abrupt end. Apple and Qualcomm released a joint press statement, drawing a line under the legal dispute.
The announcement was a big win for Qualcomm’s stock price – adding US$30 billion to the company in the following two days.
It’s also really good news for Apple.
5G iPhones
On the back of this week’s agreement, Apple signed a multiyear chipset supply agreement with Qualcomm.
A shrewd move, too. Recent reports suggested that Apple had been working with Intel on 5G modems, but this project had run into significant problems.
Qualcomm is a market leader in mobile 5G modems – so the partnership is a natural one, that will, in time, flourish once again.
The problem is that industry consensus suggests there isn’t enough time for Apple to test Qualcomm’s 5G technology in this year’s upcoming iPhone.
A short-term blow for Apple, but the bigger picture here is that the long-term future for the iPhone has been secured.
Will the iPhone have 5G in 2020?
Probably. But industry experts think Apple may still be cutting it fine. In the past, Apple has needed modems a year in advance, to fix any bugs.
Watch this space.