No iPhone 5G before 2021, Apple late on Android competition

The iPhone 5G compatible may not come out in 2020. According to an analyst UBS, Apple has not yet managed to find a provider of modems 5G. Forced to turn to Intel, the Californian manufacturer could fall far behind Android competition.

According to Timothy Arcuri, an analyst at UBS, a Swiss financial services company, Apple will not be able to release an iPhone 5G in 2020. In a report relayed by our colleagues 9to5Mac, it details the difficulties of the manufacturer to choose a 5G modems provider able to meet its requirements in time.

Apple can not find a 5G modem provider for its iPhone

For starters, Apple can hardly turn to Qualcomm. The firm is still in full legal war with the founder and has even turned to Intel to equip its iPhone XS, XR and XS Max. It is unlikely that an agreement will come on time. Same story on the side of Intel, which is quite willing to collaborate with Apple. Unfortunately, the firm is not able to supply its XMM 8160 5G modem in sufficient quantities before the end of 2020. To be integrated with the iPhone 2020, chips must be provided in the summer of 2019. A delay impossible to hold for Intel.

At the foot of the wall, could Apple turn to Mediatek? According to UBS, this is unlikely: the Taiwanese company is not up to the standards of the brand. The last option is none other than Samsung, which already provides OLED screens for iPhone XS, XS Max and XR. According to the analyst, Apple would not want to turn to the South Korean manufacturer, fearing that its production lines do not keep pace. This is a problem encountered in the production of OLED tiles for the iPhone X in 2017. Anyway, Samsung simply refuses to provide 5G modems to Apple.

The delay on the 5G could have a negative impact on iPhone sales as early as 2020, says the report. In fact, everything depends on the progress of the deployment of the 5G and the offers made by the operators. In France, the first 5G packages will already arrive in 2020.

Anyway, Apple will be very late compared to Android competition. At the end of February 2019, Samsung unveiled its first compatible smartphone, the Galaxy S10 5G. For its part, Huawei will integrate the 5G to its foldable smartphone, the Mate X. Same story on the side of Xiaomi and LG. In the coming months, other manufacturers, including OnePlus, ZTE or Motorola, will unveil their first compatible device ... 2 years before Apple.