Contrary to the earlier reports stating that Apple will not rush with developing its own 5G device, it now looks more likely that the American company will launch its first 5G phone sometime in 2020. Intel has just announced its new Intel XMM 8160 chip that supports 5G connectivity, saying that it will be commercially available in early 2020.
Intel’s 5G chip will be launched six months sooner than planned
As Intel announced on Monday, its 5G chip will be ready in the second half of the next year. The company expects that the first commercially available devices equipped with Intel XMM 8160 chip will make their debuts in early 2020. In order to make it happen, Intel moved forward the original release date of its 5G chip by six months.
According to the company, Intel XMM 8160 chip will provide users with peak speeds “three to six times faster than the latest LTE modems available today”.
Apple is likely to use Intel’s 5G chip
The fact that Intel’s 5G chip will be launched sooner than expected is definitely great news for Apple, as the phone maker is likely to use it on its future 5G iPhone. Apple already uses Intel chips in the existing iPhones and, if nothing changes, iPhone 5G could be one of the first devices that will have the Intel XMM 8160 chip in the first half of 2020.
Qualcomm is not the only option anymore
For a long time, it looked like only Qualcomm can be ready with its 5G chip for the introduction of the 5G technology, which was discouraging for Apple, especially since these two have long been involved in a legal battle. Luckily for Apple, the recent announcement made by Intel means that there is an alternative for Qualcomm and the 5G iPhone can be released in 2020 after all.
Frances might be just at the beginning of her career, but after attending a technical school, she has a fresh perspective on today’s technology. She contributes to the site with tech news.
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