Apple is planning to increase the availability of 5G mmWave capable iPhone models to more countries around the world with the release of the iPhone 13 later this year, offering even more customers access to the faster and newer technology, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In a research note obtained by MacRumors, Kuo says that infrastructure for mmWave technology will increase substantially this year in places like Canada, Japan, Australia, and major European countries. Apple currently sells the mmWave iPhone 12 in the United States, which allocates to only 30-35% of overall iPhone 12 shipments.
While 5G smartphone shipments increased significantly in 2020, most of them only supported Sub-6 GHz. We believe that mmWave will create more diverse applications than Sub-6 GHz because of the benefits of faster speed and lower latency. The mmWave model of the iPhone 12 only supports the US market, and the shipment allocation of the total iPhone 12 is about 30–35%. We predict that the iPhone 13 mmWave models will be available in more countries (e.g., Canada, Japan, Australia, and major European mobile operators), so the shipment allocation of iPhone 13 mmWave models will increase substantially to 55–60%.
According to the analyst, this year, mmWave capable iPhone 13 models will allocate to 55-60% of shipments, a significant year-over-year increase. In terms of design, compared to the standard 6GHz handsets, mmWave iPhone 12 models feature a visible antenna on the right side of the device. Kuo expects the same antenna design to continue with the 2021 iPhone lineup.
A DigiTimes report earlier this month echoed similar information as Kuo, stating that Apple is expected to boost shipments of the mmWave iPhone this year. mmWave compared to the standard and more mainstream sub-6GHz technology offers faster speeds, but requires more advanced infrastructure and works in limited range.
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Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October.
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MacBook Air (Early 2026)
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Ok so 5g isnt that common just now, but if you are going to buy a shiny new phone for such an enormous amount of money you want it to be good for a few years as these services roll out across the world... or even so that it holds its trade in value to sell it to someone else in a few years time when you upgrade. So I wouldn't buy a phone without this capability: it was my main reason for not buying this year, along with generally being happy with the performance of my existing phone.
When the mmWave works, the speeds are really astonishing. The sports complex in the large market US city I live near has it (I've used it there) and the beach towns on the DelMarVa peninsula are fairly well covered including Dewey, Rehoboth, and Ocean City Maryland. So much so, that last time I traveled to OCMD I didn't bother with the hotel Wifi. It was too slow.
As far as RF exposure, if that's your concern, simply turn off the 5G except when you're using your phone as a data hot spot, or using other data intensive applications. The non mm 5G is really no improvement over LTE right now in most places, and most of the time I'm using a headset or Car Play for conversations.
I had so much 2M and 70CM RF cook my brain in college that I seriously doubt whatever this phone is putting out is going to make a difference at this point. Unless someone hooks it up to a light saber or something....
