Apple’s 2021 “iPhone 13” models may not include support for high-band and low-band 5G connectivity, according to a report, with future models potentially shipped with support for the extremely fast mmWave or stronger sub-6GHz spectrum.
It is widely believed that Apple’s iPhone 2020 models will include 5G support, and the “iPhone 12” range is expected to use 5G modems from Qualcomm. But as speculation about the incoming iPhone generation intensifies, some attention is being paid to the 2021 model, plausibly called the “iPhone 13”.
According to DigiTimesApple is considering the possibility of producing a version of the iPhone using a single 5G band. While the iPhone 12 collection is anticipated to work with both sub-6GHz and mmWave signal, giving customers full use of 5G, Taiwan-based sources believe Apple is entertaining the idea of including support for one or the other “for specific markets”.
While DigiTimes It’s generally a good source of supply chain buzz, usually doing better with production news and delays, rather than the specifics of new hardware. That said, it would be feasible for Apple to make such a decision.
The decision to provide partial 5G support could allow Apple to offer devices that offer different connectivity speeds, depending on what the market offers in terms of existing infrastructure, as well as customer needs.
Maintaining support for mmWave would mean that consumers will be able to take advantage of the high speeds that the promotion of 5G promises will be available, but such a signal is susceptible to interference and lacks range, problems that would normally be addressed by the sub-6GHz spectrum. It is feasible that by offering mmWave support in this way, the iPhone would have to rely on existing LTE infrastructure to provide extended coverage.
Sub-6GHz 5G is rugged and capable of operating over long distances, unlike mmWave, but it won’t provide a huge speed boost over LTE connections.
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