For 2020, when Apple unveiled the iPhone 12 series, mmWave 5G support was only available in the U.S., but things could take a different turn when the iPhone 13 officially announces. A fresh report claims that Apple is working with foreign telecom companies to bring mmWave 5G support to other regions in the coming years. To speed up this standard's proliferation, the iPhone giant has apparently placed a large order for mmWave antennas.
Qiqi Will Reportedly Be Added to Apple’s Supply Chain and Provide It With mmWave Antennas for the iPhone 13
The report published by Patently Apple talks about Wistron Group having invested in Qiqi, which is now expected to be added to Apple’s supply chain for mmWave antennas for the very first time. Qiqi’s chairman Xie Hongbo, announced a few days ago that 5G-related shipments would increase significantly in 2021. This would drastically increase revenues for Qiqi, as it will allow more iPhone 13 models sold across the world to adopt the truest standard of 5G.
In case you didn’t know, the majority of regions have adopted sub-6GHz 5G. It’s faster than LTE but significantly slower than mmWave 5G, though the upside is maintaining connectivity over a longer range. Likely, mmWave 5G adoption isn’t picking up the place globally because of the infrastructure costs accompanied by this deployment. For every few meters, there needs to be a mmWave 5G node to ensure optimum performance.
Otherwise, where you see download speeds above 1,000Mbps, that bandwidth can take a sudden nosedive if you move a foot backward or sideways. This is due to the inferior range of mmWave, and in comparison, sub-6GHz is more reliable. Additionally, designing a mmWave antenna is complicated, but Qiqi has the resources and talent to make it possible for Apple on a larger scale.
This should help give the iPhone 13 lineup and future iPhone models support for the mmWave 5G band in regions other than the U.S., as shipments would gain some momentum for this particular component. Do you think the iPhone 13 family should provide mmWave support in more countries? Let us know down in the comments.
News Source: Patently Apple
