We reported last week that Apple purchased Intel’s modem chip division for a whopping $1 billion. Apple wants to stop outsourcing its hardware from Samsung and to have its own modem manufacturing company in order to produce the 5G modems that it needs for the next generation of iPhones.
Qualcomm is currently the only hardware manufacturer that is selling 5G capable modems and due to previous patent scandals, Apple is not in good terms with Qualcomm. This is why Apple decided to invest $1 billion.
iPhone 2020 Lineup
Nonetheless, the question that remains now is if the newly acquired Intel modem chip division is ready to start manufacturing 5G capable chips. Well, a new report from Ming-Chi Kuo is saying that Apple’s upcoming iPhones which are scheduled to launch in 2020 are all going to support 5G connectivity. This is bittersweet news because it also means that the 2019 iPhones that are going to launch in September will not support 5G connectivity.
The Ming-Chi Kuo Report
“We now believe that all three new 2H20 iPhone models will support 5G for the following reasons. (1) Apple has more resource for developing the 5G iPhone after the acquisition of Intel baseband business. (2) We expect that the prices of 5G Android smartphones will decline to $249-349 USD in 2H20. We believe that 5G Android smartphones, which will be sold at $249-349 USD, will only support Sub-6GHz. But the key is that consumers will think that 5G is the necessary function in 2H20. Therefore, iPhone models which will be sold at higher prices have to support 5G for winning more subsidies from mobile operators and consumers’ purchase intention. (3) Boosting 5G developments could benefit Apple’s AR ecosystem,” said Ming-Chi Kuo
The last thing that we want to note is that Ming-Chi Kuo is a renowned analyst who has managed multiple times to accurately predict Apple’s every move.