Don’t look for a 5G iPhone until 2020 or later

Don’t look for a 5G iPhone until at least 2020, according to a Bloomberg report, quoting unnamed “people familiar with [Apple’s] plans.”

The tech giant previously bet (correctly) 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. However, 5G boosters now argue the switch is a much bigger speed upgrade, making Apple’s decision to wait riskier, notes Bloomberg.

Still, it’s just a matter of time before Apple fully embraces 5G and, in fact, has filed for patents regarding the technology. Two of them involve devices with millimeter wave yagi antennas for 5G networks.

And in May 2017 Business Insider reported that the company was testing a next-generation wireless technology dubbed “millimeter wave” that could potentially radically increase the speed and bandwidth of a cellular connection. Millimeter wave, which is also known as extremely high frequency (EHF)  or very high frequency (VHF) by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), can be used for high-speed wireless broadband communications. 

Millimeter wave is an undeveloped band of spectrum that can be used in a broad range of products and services like high speed, point-to-point wireless local area networks (WLANs) and broadband access. In telecommunications, millimeter wave is used for a variety of services on mobile and wireless networks, as it allows for higher data rates up to 10 Gbps.