MacRumors

Apple plans to release its first iPhone and iPad Pro models with 5G connectivity in the second half of 2020, according to a pair of reports today from Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes.

The first report claims that the devices will be equipped with 5nm-based A14 chips — likely A14X for the iPad Pro — and support a combination of mmWave and sub-6GHz. Qualcomm is expected to supply its Snapdragon X55 modem for the iPhones, but the report does not specify which modem the iPads will use.

mmWave or millimeter wave is a set of 5G frequencies that promise ultra-fast speeds at short distances, making it best suited for dense urban areas. By comparison, sub-6GHz 5G is generally slower than mmWave, but the signals travel further, better serving suburban and rural areas.

DigiTimes believes that both the iPhone and iPad Pro models will likely be announced in September. Apple typically makes iPad announcements in October, but it has used its iPhone event in September to make a few iPad announcements before, including the original iPad Pro in 2015 and the 10.2-inch iPad in 2019.

From the first report:

Based on its 5G product roadmaps, Apple is expected to launch new iOS devices, including iPhones and iPads, incorporating both sub-6GHz and mmWave specs probably in September, which will significantly drive up demand for 5nm A14, the sources said.

A14 can be applied to diverse iOS mobile devices for different 5G frequency bands as long as corresponding modem chips and AiP modules are adopted, the sources indicated, adding that Qualcomm will provide 5G Snapdragon X55 modem chipsets for new iPhone devices in 2020.

The second report provides a more vague timeframe of the second half of 2020, so an October announcement is not ruled out:

Win Semi reportedly will be the sole fabricator of VCSEL components for ToF (time of flight) AR and depth-of-field (DoF) photography applications, as its US IDM clients have also captured orders from Apple. The ToF camera modules are expected to be incorporated into 5G iPhones and iPads to be released in the second half of 2020, the sources said.

Key Takeaway

Rumors suggest that Apple plans to update its iPad Pro lineup in March, with key new features expected to include a triple-lens rear camera system and 3D sensing for augmented reality. This would make sense from a timing perspective, as the iPad Pro has been updated on roughly an 18-month cycle since 2015, and it will have been 18 months since the iPad Pro was last updated in October 2018.

This would pave the way for the first 5G iPad Pro models with an A14X chip to launch in the fall, with other hardware changes likely being few to none. The new 5G models would likely simply be additional SKUs at the high end of the lineup.

Mobile World Congress, a major smartphone trade show event held each year in Barcelona, Spain, has been canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Mobile World Congress event in Spain is a huge trade show that's important to the tech world because it's where many device manufacturers announce new smartphones and other hardware. Apple doesn't participate, but many other major brands make announcements at MWC.

Starting in early February, multiple vendors began pulling out of the event, citing concerns about the coronavirus and the potential for spreading it at such a large event. Intel, LG, Nokia, Vodafone, ZTE, Nvidia, Sony, Amazon, Cisco, Ericsson and other notable companies canceled press conferences and attendance plans.

Given the number of companies refusing to go to MWC, the GSM Association responsible for organizing the event today confirmed to Bloomberg that it's canceled. GSMA CEO John Hoffman said that the virus outbreak has made it "impossible" to hold the event.

The GSMA initially attempted to continue on with MWC, implementing disinfection measures, banning attendees from certain areas in China, and more, but too many companies exited the event. Canceling MWC is similar to canceling CES, as it is a huge deal for new product launches and partnerships.

The coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has infected more than 42,000 people and more than 1,000 people have died, primarily in China.

Back in 2015, Andy Rubin, the co-founder of the Android operating system, started up a company called Essential, focusing on smartphones. Essential launched its Essential Phone PH-1 in 2017, debuting a 5.71-inch device made from titanium and ceramic with an edge-to-edge QHD display.

The Essential Phone was praised for its design, but reviews found faults with the camera, the display, and other features, and it was never popular enough to compete with flagship smartphones from other companies.

Essential in October 2019 announced the Gem, a replacement for the Essential Phone, but the Gem is never going to see a release because Essential today announced that it is shutting down.

Our vision was to invent a mobile computing paradigm that more seamlessly integrated with people's lifestyle needs. Despite our best efforts, we've now taken Gem as far as we can and regrettably have no clear path to deliver it to customers. Given this, we have made the difficult decision to cease operations and shutdown Essential.

Essential last year acquired the CloudMagic team and its cross-platform Newton Mail app, which is also affected by the shuttering of the company.

Essential will no longer be providing updates for the Essential Phone, and while it will continue to work, there will be no future software refreshes or customer support available. Newton Mail will be available through April 30, 2020.

Essential says that it offers its "deepest thanks" to the Essential and Newton Mail communities for their "support and passion for our vision."

When it launched, Essential secured over $330 million in funding and at one point, the company had a $1 billion valuation. Essential was impacted by poor sales of its phone and its inability to put out another product.

Taiwan-based suppliers are gearing up for production of a new lower-cost iPhone, a device that has been tentatively referred to as the iPhone SE 2 or iPhone 9, according to paywalled information shared by DigiTimes.

While the lower-cost iPhone may be on track, DigiTimes also reports that Apple has stopped sending engineers to China to assist with the Engineering Validation Test or EVT stage of iPhone 12 development. Last month, Apple said it was restricting travel to China to "business critical" purposes only due to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, which has also forced many Apple suppliers to suspend operations.

As a result, DigiTimes believes iPhone 12 models are unlikely to enter production in June, citing unnamed industry sources. Given the coronavirus outbreak is a fluid situation, though, timeframes may change. If the production delay ends up materializing, it is still very possible that Apple will announce its iPhone 12 lineup in September as usual, even if supply of the devices is tighter than usual.

Rumors suggest that the iPhone 12 lineup will include four new models, including one 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and one 6.7-inch model, and each will likely be equipped with a faster Apple-designed A14 chip. DigiTimes expects A14 chip orders to be 50-60 percent higher than A13 chip orders.

All of this information was shared in DigiTimes' Daily Digest for paying subscribers, with the full reports likely to be released by tomorrow.

Update: The full DigiTimes report has been released and, as we suspected, it claims that the iPhone 12 production delays are unlikely to affect Apple's plan to announce the new devices in September.

Last week, we reported that many custom iMac, iMac Pro, and MacBook Pro configurations are facing longer-than-usual delivery estimates on Apple's online store in the United States.

The reason for the delays is unconfirmed, but it could be related to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in China that has forced many of Apple's suppliers to temporarily close their factories and suspend production. While some factories are beginning to resume operations, initial production appears to be limited.

In any case, the delay has extended to the new Mac Pro. In many European countries, for example, the base model without any customizations is currently estimated for delivery on March 10. While the new Mac Pro is assembled in the United States for orders placed in the Americas, European orders are assembled in China.

The new Mac Pro also has a February 24-26 delivery estimate in the United States, despite being assembled in Texas, possibly because some components are still sourced from temporarily-closed suppliers in China.

The coronavirus outbreak is a fluid situation, so it remains unclear what its impact might be on upcoming Apple products. Last month, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo outlined his expectations for several new Apple products in the first half of 2020, including refreshed MacBook Pro/Air models, refreshed iPad Pro models with a triple-lens rear camera system, Tile-like item tracking tags, high-end wireless headphones, a small wireless charging mat, and a new lower-cost 4.7-inch iPhone.

Apple Pay could account for 10 percent of global card transactions by 2025 and pose a serious challenge to rivals like PayPal, according to recent trend data compiled by research firm Bernstein.

Drawing from the data, Quartz reports that ‌Apple Pay‌ currently accounts for about 5 percent of global transactions. If that growth trend continues, it may well become a long-term competitive threat to PayPal – and could even end up competing with Visa and Mastercard if it chose to set up its own payments network much further down the line.

Apple Pay probably won't pose a challenge to the card giants anytime soon. While the tech company could, in theory, create its own network that runs outside the card systems, Bernstein argues that Apple still needs the card networks, which are ubiquitous and trusted. Visa and MasterCard, meanwhile, are used to dealing with partners (traditionally large card-issuing banks) with the kind of scale that even Apple Pay could muster.

The same may not be true for other wallets. "Apple Pay is indeed one of the long-term competitive threats to PayPal," Bernstein analysts wrote. For now, PayPal has a commanding lead in the world of online checkouts, and also benefits from network effects that have been building up since the turn of the century. But Apple and PayPal could end up competing for the same turf in the coming years.

Apple's advantage over other digital payments includes its pre-installed Wallet app for iPhone and its tight control over the NFC technology contained within the device that can process contactless payments.

However, that tight control could cause headaches for Apple if it is perceived as a way to block competition. Apple argues that its policies are strictly for security purposes, but it has already run into difficulties in Australia, where big banks want access to the iPhone's NFC function for a competitive level playing field.

The company has also faced a backlash in in Germany, where a parliamentary committee recently passed an amendment to an anti-money laundering law that could force Apple to open up the NFC chip in iPhones to competing mobile payment providers.

In November 2019, the European Union's competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager acknowledged that her department has received "many concerns" over ‌Apple Pay‌ and potential anticompetitive issues.

Apple is said to be working with supply chain partners in Taiwan on several upcoming products, including a so-called "AirPod Pro Lite," according to DigiTimes. Other products mentioned include next-generation iPad, Apple Watch, and iMac models, all of which will be due for updates in the coming months, although some like the ‌iPad‌ and Apple Watch are unlikely to launch before September.

The AirPod Pro Lite mention comes without further details, buried in a report about Apple looking to ramp up production with partners in Taiwan as it seeks to geographically diversify Apple's supply chain amid the ongoing coronavirus epidemic that has significantly impacted production in China.

Apple, maintaining partnerships with supply chains in both Taiwan and China, may have its Taiwanese partners handle more production of new-generation iPad, Apple Watch, AirPod Pro Lite and iMac devices to be released later, as the epidemic has raised risks of raw materials supply shortages and shipments disruptions arising from uncertain resumption of normal operations at components suppliers and assembly plants in China, the sources said.

It's unclear exactly what DigiTimes is referring to by "AirPod Pro Lite," as Apple just released the AirPods Pro in October of last year. That followed the launch of second-generation regular AirPods in March 2019, and with only $50 separating the ‌AirPods Pro‌ from the wireless case version of the regular AirPods, we're not sure how a "Lite" version of the ‌AirPods Pro‌ would fit into Apple's lineup.

While ‌DigiTimes‌ often has some insight into Apple's product pipeline through the supply chain, the publication is less accurate when it comes to specific details like product naming and timing, so it's possible these could be a third generation of the regular AirPods, but we'll have to wait for additional rumors to surface before we have a better picture of what to expect.

Samsung today announced a new slate of 2020 smartphones, debuting a range of devices that include the S20 5G, the S20+ 5G, the S20 Ultra 5G, and the most novel, the foldable Galaxy Z Flip.

MacRumors videographer Dan was in attendance at Samsung's Unpacked event in San Francisco, and he was able to spend some hands-on time with the new smartphones. Watch the video below for some close-up details and opinions on Samsung's new lineup, which competes both with Apple's current lineup and its upcoming 2020 smartphones, which we expect to see in September.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip is its second foldable device, but the first that's designed with a smartphone form factor. The device starts out as a 6.7-inch smartphone, but folds in half to make it more pocketable.

The Z Flip is Samsung's first foldable smartphone that uses a glass display, with Samsung adopting new ultra thin foldable glass technology. Using glass rather than a laminate material results in a nicer display and a device that overall, feels more premium.

The hinge feels sturdier than the hinge in the Galaxy Fold, and it's a neat design because it can be set to multiple different angles and used in what's called "Flex Mode" while half folded. In this mode, the bottom half props up the top half for a hands-free mode that can be used for selfies and unique photography opportunities.

Because of the hinge design and the way that it's meant to be used at multiple angles, the Z Flip doesn't open as easily as traditional flip phones, which is a net positive. It has a solid build and doesn't feel as fragile as the Galaxy Fold.

Samsung is charging a whopping $1,380 for the Galaxy Z Flip, which is sensationally expensive for what's essentially a gimmick, but it is a high-quality, solid design that demonstrates what's possible with foldable display technology.

Samsung also showed off its new Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra flagship devices, all of which feature 5G connectivity, huge batteries, giant bezel-free displays, and impressive camera technology.

Samsung's smartphones range in size from 6.2 to 6.9 inches, and on the higher end, 6.9-inches is massive, especially for a device that has a bezel-free design with just a single pinhole camera cutout at the top. All of the phones offer HDR10+ support along with 120Hz refresh rates, but using the 120Hz refresh rate requires bumping the resolution down to 1080p.

There are some unique camera features, especially in the high-end Samsung S20 Ultra. It features a 12-megapixel ultra wide-angle camera, a 108-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 48-megapixel telephoto camera, and a Depth Vision Camera.

The cameras are designed to take improved images in low lighting conditions, and Samsung showed off an impressive 10x lossless zoom feature that offers a total of 100x zoom on the S20 Ultra.

When it comes to batteries, these smartphones have 4,000 to 5,000mAh capacities, which beats out anything the iPhone has to offer at the current time. Samsung's devices are definitely premium and are bringing Samsung's best tech to lure smartphone users away from the ‌iPhone‌, but they also have premium prices.

The Galaxy S20 has a price tag of $1,000, the S20+ is priced at $1,200, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra is priced at $1,400 and is a bit more expensive than the Galaxy Z Flip.

We're going to have more in-depth coverage of the Galaxy Z Flip and Samsung's new S20 smartphones coming in the near future, so expect to see some detailed comparisons with Apple's smartphones starting later this week.