image : Apple

Apple will reportedly wait till at least 2020 to release a 5G iPhone compatible with the next generation of mobile services coming next year. Bloomberg reports this citing people familiar with its plans.

This postponement may make it easier for smartphone rivals to court consumers for 5G phones which will offer new and faster services when introduced next year. Bloomberg says Apple will wait as long as a year after the launch of new networks before the iPhone, its main product gets the capability to access these networks.

Apple CEO Tim Cook (middle) greets customers with Apple team members at Apple’s Palo Alto store image : Apple

Cupertino based Apple’s previous calculations were that new deployed networks and first versions of rival smartphones would witness problems like spotty coverage making customers less urged to switch. 5G promoters are attesting that the switch is a much larger upgrade this time which paints Apple’s decision as being risky.

This decision, Bloomberg says may be related to its dispute with chipmaker Qualcomm who leads in the 5G-enables space and a pact with Intel which wouldn’t have chips out in time to support production of 2019 phones.

image : Apple

The switch from 4G to 5G counts as a main selling point for smartphone makers and Apple rivals like Samsung and Huawei, Both have indicated plans to manufacture 5G phones that will serve as competition to Apple’s products. Wireless carriers may also set priority on the marketing of 5G phones as a way to get consumers to switch over which may affect Apple a bit due to a delay.

“Apple has always been a laggard in cellular technology,” Gartner analyst Mark Hung says. “They weren’t impacted in the past, but 5G is going to be much easier to market. But if they wait beyond 2020, then I think they’ll be impacted.” Apple hasn’t made any announcements or reply to this Bloomberg report as of current.

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