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Apple Will Wait Until at Least 2020 To Release a 5G iPhone: Report (bloomberg.com)
Apple plans to hold off until at least 2020 before offering an iPhone that can connect to the next generation of high-speed phone services coming next year, Bloomberg reported Monday. From the report: The delay may make it easier for rivals like Samsung Electronics to win over consumers to phones that connect to 5G networks, which will provide a leap forward in mobile data speeds when they are introduced in 2019. As with 3G and 4G, the two previous generations of mobile technology, Apple will wait as long as a year after the initial deployment of the new networks before its main product gets the capability to access them, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the company's plans.
Apple's previous calculations -- proven correct -- were that the new networks and the first versions of rival smartphones would come with problems such as spotty coverage, making consumers less compelled to immediately make the jump. This time, 5G boosters argue the switch is a much bigger speed upgrade, making Apple's decision to wait riskier. The networks will open the floodgates to new types of mobile computing, 5G advocates say.
Apple's previous calculations -- proven correct -- were that the new networks and the first versions of rival smartphones would come with problems such as spotty coverage, making consumers less compelled to immediately make the jump. This time, 5G boosters argue the switch is a much bigger speed upgrade, making Apple's decision to wait riskier. The networks will open the floodgates to new types of mobile computing, 5G advocates say.
...who needs better reception far more than better throughput? I can live comfortably with 4G if it actually performs as it should.
apple wont release something until they steal it right.
This sounds as though one were talking about some remote future. Dude, we have less than 30 days left of 2018.
I find it weird that 4G throughput has gotten worse with time too. 3 bars used to be great now it's sluggish. I suppose that's because there are so many other phones now.
I suspect the benefit of 5G might be higher channel capacity not higher peak speed will restore the throughput we once had.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
The delay may make it easier for rivals like Samsung Electronics to win over consumers to phones that connect to 5G networks, which will provide a leap forward in mobile data speeds when they are introduced in 2019.
5G networks may be introduced in 2019 but they are hardly going to be ubiquitous. It's going to take years for them to roll out to cover the amount of area current 4G and LTE networks cover now. Samsung might be able to poach some customers from Apple but it's not going to be a mass exodus even in the worst case. The only thing that will get people to shift away from Apple in large numbers is if Apple produces a weapons grade stinker of an iPhone.
The reality is, those 'floodgates' will be heavily constrained by the carriers who don't actually build networks to meet that level of load.
They'll have data caps, bandwidth throttling, and a whole host of things that will mean in reality the network will never be anywhere near capable of delivering these theoretical values.
Carriers love to advertise their awesome network, but we all know that it never actually delivers on that promise.
This will be far more marketing hype than reality.
Should be evangelists. There is a religious fervour that 5G is going to make a noticeable impact.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5G#Performance_Targets
Note performance without 6GHZ+ signalling it will be roughly like 4G (most carriers have apparently been making all the basic wins over 4G for years).
Prediction: first 6 months 5G is really nippy everywhere, while no one has it. 1 year later, indistinguishable from 4G, has happened every generation.
5G just benefits the carriers to keep up with demand, and to do some currently esoteric things for driverless cars.
My specs are bigger than your specs. Apple has never competed on specs, as the market has proven, they are competing and often winning on the user experience.
5G (in the millimeter bands) will require not only new modems, but also new antennas and positioning. It is going to be hard to fit all the new required antennas (more than one) inside an iPhone with the limited space available to avoid another AntennaGate (you are holding it wrong).
The delay may make it easier for rivals like Samsung Electronics to win over consumers to phones that connect to 5G networks, which will provide a leap forward in mobile data speeds when they are introduced in 2019.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... nope, not gonna happen.
I've had plenty of "4G" devices... iPhones, my Apple Watch, a couple of WiFi hotspots and Android test phones for work, and even a Blackberry that I won in a drawing at a conference. Between them, I've seen the performance of all four mobile carriers' networks in the US. And not a one of them has actually met the promised data rates of, as per Wikipedia and ITU Report M.2134-0:
100 megabits per second (Mbit/s)(=12.5 megabytes per second) for high mobility communication (such as from trains and cars) and 1 gigabit per second (Gbit/s) for low mobility communication (such as pedestrians and stationary users).
Since they all lied about providing "4G" in the first place, but still used it in their marketing to jack up their pricing; I'm not particularly confident that the carriers will bother to actually roll out the 20GB capacity that's mandated for 5G. But I'm pretty sure they'll lie again, and use the 5G name to raise prices... again.
Yeah, I know it's laughable with this administration. But I, for one, think that the carriers should be forced... through severe sanctions and crippling fines topped off with a revocation of their licenses if they still fail to comply with the spec... to fix their 4G networks to deliver those promised rates, before they're allowed to jump into the "5G" game. (And needless to say, they should be severely sanctioned again if they fail to meet the 5G spec once they start selling the service and devices.)
Again... I know... pipe dreams, and all that. But one can still *HOPE* for the telecoms corps to be held accountable for their malfeasance.
Imagine all the people...
I can't type as fast as I could on my old LG Lotus--especially while walking. 4G is fast enough as long as I haven't gone over my limit.
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
I'm sure that every phone will support 5G in the future, but for me the exciting possibility is that it becomes realistic competition for the telco's broadband services. With 5G on its way and SpaceX getting the green light for its LEO satellite constellation, I think the writing is on the wall for crappy telco package deals and bandwidth caps. We can hope anyway...
I am not interested in articles about life extension advancements.
As an owner of a LTE-A device in a city which didn't have an LTE-A network I'm genuinely confused by Apple's announcement. Mind you there's no surprise about this announcement in the slightest. They have been behind the curve on adopting every new wireless technology ever in their phones. They were one of the last for 3G, middle of the pack for 4G, slow to release LTE-A, they have been a generation behind in all Bluetooth standards and a generation behind the competition in WiFi too.
Why should this be any different? The marketing department should have some balls and just come out and say: "We're doing the same thing we've always done, you won't get 5G support for a while."
Apple is right, coverage will be spotty at first, deployment will take time.
However, it won't take long before it becomes an essential feature. And only then, Apple will release a 5G iPhone, and those who bought last year model will buy the new one for that reason.
Smartphone are starting to face the same problem as PCs, people don't need to upgrade because the old one is good enough for just about everything, and things are slowing down even more. 5G will be a real upgrade, and apple will make sure to time it well in order to maximize their sales.
It's $999 for Xs
I would be happy with 100Mbps then I can get rid of Comcast!
I disagree and think this issue will be unsettled until the carriers make their tariffs clearer to consumers. And therefore maybe Apple will not lose anything by delaying.
Maybe I'm an outlier, but why would I want faster / more bandwidth if my carrier still caps me at x GB per month, and charges me overage? (ok, ok, for some uses, like voice, etc. of course it matters)
But until the carriers roll out a proportionally larger cap because now they can deliver more, what benefit does the consumer see and is willing to pay for? Why would I jump to buy a phone that simply burns through my data faster?
Now - 5G is interesting for _other_ mobile data uses (like laptop connections). But I seriously couldn't care less less about 5G on my phone.
I think there are some practical considerations when it comes to speed and "burstiness".
If your connection tops out at 50 Mb/s, then a 500 Mb file will take ten seconds. That's 10 seconds of you tying up the airwaves when fewer people can use them. However, if you have a 250 Mb/s connection, then you're only tying things up for 2 seconds, and then other people can get on and do their thing.
So from a user experience perspective, you won't be able to watch streams any quicker (since you're playing through the show at 1x speed), but it allows for more efficient use of the spectrum.
... means UNLIMITED data, then 5G (read: more bandwidth) could possibly mean something.
I have a friend who works for a company in the know, and he mentioned to me months ago that there would be no 5G for iPhone until 2020. And funnily enough, my response was fairly similar - that it will take a while for the network rollout to become fit for use and for apps to take advantage of what 5G bring over 4G.
You really don't want this shit. The 60ghz version has to be put on up individual utility poles all through the neighborhood. The deployment itself has been a huge controversy. And worst of all: If you think cell phone tracking is scary now, imagine when all your cell towers are line of sight with centimeter accuracy and can now be tied directly to surveillance camera footage in real time wherever you travel. This is not a societal benefit, it is the final nail in the coffin of future revolution against the even increasing authoritarianism, both at home and globally..
The problem is that as more people overload 4G networks, the solution will be the 5G networks and Apple users will be stuck with overloaded 4G networks.
Apple's going to move to 5G, just evidently not in the next 12 months. The rollout will take FAR longer than that so it's a sensible decision. I'm sure they'll be offering a 5G iPhone long before the scenario you outline comes to pass. 4G networks aren't going to get overloaded in the next 12-18 months.
Odd that Apple, which in the past has been eager to embrace new technology such as Lightning, USB C, etc. (some would say before its time) now is a laggard.
Apple isn't so much eager to embrace new tech as they are to get rid of old. They are rarely the first to a new technology but they are influential so they tend to be a trendsetter for the broader market. Once Apple invests in a technology they often turn it into a standard. Perhaps more importantly they also sometimes kill old standards. Floppy discs hung around for about a decade after they should have until Apple pulled the plug on them. Plenty of other examples.
Lightning isn't really new tech aside from the physical connector. It's just proprietary tech and honestly it should go away in favor of USB-C.
One thing to keep in mind with Apple and the iPhone. They really cannot be at the bleeding edge because the unit volumes they sell are so large. Anything they put into the iPhone they have to be able to reliably source tens or hundreds of millions of unit of that component. That inherently limits how close to the state of the art they can get. It's not a big deal to source 10,000 or even 100,000 electrical components (that's what I do for a living) but when you start talking numbers like 200 million, it becomes a big problem. The most cutting edge stuff just isn't usually available in that sort of volume.
It may happen faster than you think. Many cellular networks plan on retiring their older 2G and 3G kit for 5G.
I'm sure it will happen fairly fast but it isn't going to happen in just 12-18 months. This is people making a mountain out of a molehill. Apple has to build well over a hundred million iPhones each year and there is a development lead time and supply chain lead time. It takes time to design and source components in those sorts of volumes. Since 5G hasn't even hit the market yet, it would be a big risk for Apple to roll that out before the network technology is finalized and being installed and the rollout is going to take much longer than a year anyway. This is just pragmatism.
If you read through the comments here you'll see that people are already experiencing congested 4G.
I think that most people have no actual data to support that hypothesis outside of some corner cases. They just have a bad/slow connection and presume that must be the cause even thought they have no actual evidence to support that hypothesis. They can't rule it out so they are making an argument from ignorance. The cellular providers aren't making congestion data available publicly so it's not clear in most cases how they would know with any real certainty. Just because your phone is having a slow/bad connection does not automatically mean network congestion is the issue. Furthermore I'm quite certain most of the people here have not really done any meaningful testing to verify their theory.
In any case it isn't going to get markedly worse in the next 12 months outside of some rare corner cases.