Published 18:17 IST, June 18th 2019
5G may be coming to the iPhone in 2020 after all
If long-term Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is to be believed, Apple seems right on schedule with its 5G plans
Apple and Qualcomm may have reached a settlement but that doesn’t necessarily mean 5G may be coming to the iPhone any sooner. If anything, there’s every chance, we may have to wait longer assuming Apple’s long-term association with Intel – and the eventual fallout. Swapping Intel tech with Qualcomm tech should take time. But, if long-term Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is to be believed, Apple seems right on schedule with its 5G plans – and, as previously reported, 5G may be coming to the iPhone in 2020 after all.
Kuo is out with a new set of predictions. One, the 2020 iPhones will all pack OLED panels. Second, there’s going to be a size revision in the case of the iPhone XS, XS Max successor phones – while the former will get smaller at 5.4-inch, the latter is set to get bigger at 6.7-inch. The iPhone XR successor will stay put at 6.1-inch. Third, the iPhone XS, XS Max successor phones will support 5G connectivity, while the iPhone XR successor will remain on LTE.
“We expect that the new 2H20 iPhone lines will include the high-end 6.7-inch and 5.4-inch OLED iPhone models and the low-end 6.1-inch OLED iPhone. The 6.7-inch and 5.4-inch OLED iPhone models will likely support 5G,” according to Kuo.
Kuo had also recently confirmed that the 2019 iPhone will support two-way wireless charging - similar to Samsung’s Power Share feature found inside the Galaxy S10 phones. They’ll all stick to LTE for now.
“We expect the new 2H19 iPhone models will support two-way wireless charging. Though the iPhone is not the first high-end smartphone to be equipped with two-way wireless charging, this new function could make it more convenient for users to charge the new AirPods and create a better integrated user experience of the iPhone and AirPods,” according to Kuo.
The two-way wireless charging feature should also give way to bigger batteries – while the iPhone XS Max successor is said to pack a 10 to 15 per cent bigger battery, the iPhone XS successor could see a 20 to 25 per cent jump in battery capacity. The iPhone XR successor is meanwhile said to gain the least – with a reported 0 to 5 per cent increase over the predecessor. Apple is expected to launch its 2019 iPhones in September.
Updated 18:17 IST, June 18th 2019
