Intel's 5G Chips Won't Appear in Mobile Phones Until 2020

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.

Intel 5G Modem
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.

Tags: 5G, Intel, Qualcomm
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

johnyslats Avatar
68 months ago
I can wait. As much as carriers and smartphone vendors want us to buy into the ‘5G is here’ hype the infrastructure for widespread adoption just won’t be here for some time
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
68 months ago
Just kiss and make up with Qualcomm, Apple!
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KGBguy Avatar
68 months ago
Just kiss and make up with Qualcomm, Apple!
Apple’s Ego is too big for that lol
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kelson Avatar
68 months ago
And this is a problem because?

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.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Baymowe335 Avatar
68 months ago
1. iPhone users won't have 5G anywhere in the world
2. People who buy iPhone in 2019 and most of 2020 won't have 5G for as long as they keep their phones (i.e. long after 5G is available everywhere)

Just like with other new tech (LTE, OLED, NFC, USB-C, wireless charging etc.) Apple customers get it last and sometimes years after others.
I remember when LTE came out. It was trash. I had a Samsung phone with LTE and it was slow, spotty, and never worked well.

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.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vicviper789 Avatar
68 months ago
But you will have the icon on some phones! ;)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iPhone 15 Pro FineWoven

Apple Reportedly Stops Production of FineWoven Accessories

Sunday April 21, 2024 6:03 am PDT by
Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories, according to the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami." In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kosutami explained that Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories due to its poor durability. The company may move to another non-leather material for its premium accessories in the future. Kosutami has revealed...
iOS 17 All New Features Thumb

iOS 17.5 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday April 21, 2024 3:00 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 17.5 update for the iPhone includes only a few new user-facing features, but hidden code changes reveal some additional possibilities. Below, we have recapped everything new in the iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 beta so far. Web Distribution Starting with the second beta of iOS 17.5, eligible developers are able to distribute their iOS apps to iPhone users located in the EU...
iPad And Calculator App Feature

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...