Reuters reports that Intel has confirmed it does not expect its 5G chips to be in consumer products until 2020.
Intel Corp executives said on Friday its 5G modem chips will not appear in mobile phones until 2020, raising the possibility its biggest customer, Apple Inc, will be more than a year behind rivals in delivering a device that uses the faster networks.
Intel's timeline is tied closely with Apple's product plans due to Apple's reliance on Intel chips for its iPhone modems. Previously a Qualcomm customer, Apple has been at odds with Qualcomm due to an ongoing legal battle between the two companies. In fact, Qualcomm has been reportedly unwilling to sell its chips to Apple because of the conflict.
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That has left Apple reliant on Intel for its modem chips in the latest line of iPhones, though Apple has been exploring other vendors, and even working to develop its own chips. That plan, however, isn't expected to produce results until 2021, at least.
Apple waiting until 2020 to deliver 5G iPhones doesn't come as a surprise as previous rumors have said the same. This statement by Intel, however, does seem to confirm some of those previous rumors.
Top Rated Comments
There is going to be very little actual service coverage in 2019. Not to mention that the 5G chips are massive power drains.
I'm more than happy to wait until 2020 to get a 5G iPhone. This is a non-issue in my mind. I'd like to see continued gains in framework development for App devs, more CPU/GPU power, and better battery life for the 2019 phones.
iPhones didn't have OLED, but still managed to have some of the best screens in the industry.
Apple isn't last to every technology and when they aren't first, they always make it work better.
Apple also has industry leading silicon.