KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 ― Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst who works with TF International Securities, has been known to make accurate predictions on Apple’s future plans — and he’s recently shared a few nuggets of what to expect for the iPhone lineup in 2020.
Kuo detailed in a report that the iPhone will be released in 3 variants in 2020; a premium version with a 6.7” display, a smaller 6.1” version, as well as a high-end 5.4” variant. There will also be OLED displays for all models, which will come as a relief to iPhone XR users.
Interestingly, 5G support will be available on the 6.7” and 5.4” models, with the 6.1” model only supporting LTE. It would seem that Apple is basically staying true to its current lineup format; two high-end devices that sandwich (in terms of display size) a more midrange phone.
Just in time
The topic of 5G iPhones have been debated for awhile now, after initial reports that Apple will use Intel 5G modems in their smartphones were superseded by the news that Apple has opted to go with Qualcomm instead.
As such, it appears that the change hasn’t slowed down Apple’s plans to have 5G iPhones ready by 2020. Kuso is also expecting 5G connectivity across the board for iPhones by 2021, while Apple may have bought enough time to transition over to its rumoured in-house 5G modems by 2023.
At the moment it’s all still hearsay, but Apple’s decision to settle with Qualcomm and form a partnership arguably evidences a desire to avoid anymore delays for 5G iPhones.
Prior to the Apple-Qualcomm announcement, Apple was seemingly out of options with regards to its mobile chipset supplier especially as it looked to introduce 5G-ready devices. Instead, Kuo’s latest predictions may be a sign that Apple is keeping 5G plans well on time (by Apple’s standards, of course. 5G-enabled phones are already on the market). ― SoyaCincau
