Apple really should wait until 2020 to deploy 5G network on iPhones

Apple really should wait until 2020 to deploy 5G network on iPhones

Last month, we commented that the first iPhones with support for 5G networks should start to emerge only in 2020. Now, the Bloomberg brought more information that meets this possibility, discussing positive and negative points in case Apple decides to wait a while to adopt the technology.

According to people familiar with Apple’s plans, the company should wait up to one year after the initial deployment of the new mobile network before its gadget flagship manage to use it – just as it did with the adoption of 3G and 4G / LTE on iPhones 3G and 5, respectively.

In Apple’s calculations, the first versions of smartphones to adopt the new technology will come with problems that may inhibit consumers from switching to the new network immediately, such as irregular coverage, for example. Therefore, it may be that Apple chooses to wait a little longer to migrate technology, given the difference in speed between 4G / LTE and 5G networks.

Nevertheless, Apple’s decision may be related to the legal dispute between the company and Qualcomm, which currently leads the production of chips supporting 5G networks. If the imbroglio between the two is not resolved in time, it may be that Apple has to rely mostly on Intel for the manufacture of these modems.

Judgment has set date

Speaking of Qualcomm, we recently commented that its CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, said during an interview that the judicial battle with Apple was «close to being resolved». Well, it really is, and now with a definite date: April 15, 2019.

According to Apple attorney William Isaacson, information that Apple and Qualcomm would be entering into an agreement is inconsistent with the truth; in reality, companies haven’t talked in months. There is nothing to prevent an agreement from being signed before the trial, but the fact is that today there is no likelihood of this happening.

Apparently, Qualcomm was waiting for a trial even earlier, already in February next year; however, Judge Gonzalo Curiel of the San Diego Court upheld the decision to carry it out in April to «accommodate the court’s agenda».

What are your bets for the next chapter of the soap between Apple and Qualcomm?

via 9to5Mac: 1, 2