14 DAY TRIAL // The 2019 iPhone lineup would only come with upgrades to the existing models, meaning that we’ll get new iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS devices.
What we won’t get, however, is a 5G iPhone, as it was originally speculated that Apple would only launch such a model in 2020.
But according to UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri, Apple is very unlikely to release a 5G smartphone next year, simply because it doesn’t have the hardware and the partners for such a device.
Basically, it all comes down to the legal fight against Qualcomm. As far as the production of 5G modems is concerned, Apple’s best choices are Qualcomm and Intel, but given the dispute against the San Diego-based chipmaker, the latter remains the only option.
Intel, however, won’t release a 5G modem until late 2020, which means there’s a high chance that Apple won’t be able to upgrade the iPhone with 5G capabilities next year.
The Qualcomm legal battle
The analyst says that MediaTek and Samsung could be Apple’s backup solutions, albeit the Cupertino-based tech giant is likely to refuse both. First, MediaTek isn’t considered a company that can’t reach iPhone requirements, and second, Apple is already trying to reduce reliance on Samsung and such an approach wouldn’t align with its long-term vision.
Looking at the 5G push from this perspective makes it obvious that Apple not only that lacks the hardware to make a 5G iPhone happen, but it also doesn’t have any partner that can help it build one. Qualcomm itself was the best option, and Apple even wanted to continue its partnership with the chipmaker, but considering the legal battle, it’s pretty clear that these talks are unlikely to reach a conclusion without a settlement.
The analyst says that given all of these, a 5G iPhone could only arrive in late 2021, though he believes that it could even take longer than that for Apple to deal with all aforementioned struggles.