New rumours suggest that the 2020 iPhone stable will support next-gen 5G mmWave technology – the fastest on today’s consumer market.
The news comes after Optus commenced testing 5G mmWave across four locations in Sydney last month, potentially set to facilitate speeds over 20Gbps.
“… with mmWave technology expected to become available for 5G in 2021 it’s important that we start testing this technology now so that we can begin to understand how we can best harness its capabilities for our consumer and enterprise customers,” said Lambo Kanagaratnam, Optus Managing Director Networks, in late June.
mmWave seeks to permit faster speeds and reduce latency for customers, especially those high dense areas (e.g. stadiums).
One of its downsides is that the technology’s signal is short range.
According to MacRumours, the Apple’s 2020 iPhone range will include support for regular 5G and mmWave.
A report from Taiwanese trade publication, DigiTimes, suggests whilst the phone will support both technologies, the may support only one, or the other, the year after – with further variances country by country.
The news comes as Telstra has been rolling-out 5G tech across Australia for a while, with mmWave not publicly available until the Federal Government auctions next year.
In Australia, Ericsson has partnered with Singtel-owned Optus in its 5G rollout.
“MillimetreWave 5G is the next step in unlocking mass productivity gains through a high-speed wireless communication layer,” added Mr Kanagaratnam.
“With the mmWave spectrum auction scheduled for early next year, today’s announcement is another critical milestone in ensuring that all Australians can benefit from the full potential of mmWave technology,” states Martin Wiktorin, Head of Ericsson Singapore, Brunei and Philippines and Global Customer Unit Singtel.
