Will Apple be left without 5G on the iPhone in 2019, due to the weakness of Intel?

There have already been some rumors claiming that the Apple, does not intend to offer 5G support in the 2019 iPhone lineup, but chooses to wait another year.

Αas it seems, the Intel indirectly confirms these rumors, saying that if Apple decides to add 5G support to the iPhones that will be released this year, it will not be able to serve it. Intel executives said on Saturday that devices equipped with the company's 5G modem will not be available until 2020.

Intel is Apple's main modem supplier. Although the company does not specifically list the companies affected by this development, if Apple wants to use the Intel modem, then this year's iPhone models will not support 5G technology.

According to Sandra Rivera, head of Intel network chip business, the first samples of 5G modem chips will be shipped this year. 5G will currently be available as non-consumer products, including network equipment, so Rivera expects no commercially available devices using Intel 5G modems to be available this year.

An earlier rumor had it that the iPhone might support 5G in 2019 modem XMM 8160 5G announced last November was presented six months ahead of schedule. However, Intel said it plans to launch a 5G modem in the second half of 2019 and the commercialization of equipment using the company's products is expected to begin in the first half of 2020.

Of course, Intel is not the only company producing 5G modems. Qualcomm has the Snapdragon X55 5G modem, which theoretically achieves a download speed of 7 Gbps and supports "all the big bands", but Qualcomm's ongoing legal dispute with Apple shows that the modem will not appear on iPhones, at least in the short term.

In addition, even the 2020 iPhones may not end up using a 5G modem from Intel or any other company. It is said that Apple is considering designing its own modem.

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