Apple is reportedly ready to enable support for 5G connectivity on Indian iPhones before the end of the year.
The move, if the report is accurate, would mean that owners of 5G-capable iPhones, like iPhone 14, in India could be taking advantage of the super-fast technology from December, assuming their carrier also supports it.
5G FTW
The news comes via an ET News report that has Apple ready to roll out an iOS update that would enable the 5G connectivity feature. The report doesn't say who provided that information beyond citing "people familiar with the matter."
The report goes on to claim that "Senior executives from Apple and Bharti Airtel will meet this week to discuss rollout timeline for software updates to 5G-capable iPhones so that they support the Indian telco's 5G network," following discussions "at the highest levels in the two companies."
“Apple is presently testing their devices in cities like Mumbai and Delhi on Airtel's 5G network, and may roll out the update supporting 5G to supported iPhone models by December," the unnamed source is reported to have told the outlet.
While Apple has been putting 5G modems into iPhones since the arrival of the iPhone 12, no current model supports such technology on Indian carriers. That might be about to change.
However, the report doesn't specify whether Apple would enable the mmWave or sub-6GHz 5G, with the two offering wildly different connectivity speeds.
Regardless of which one is used, many suggest that 5G connectivity isn't the huge real-world speed boost that Apple and carriers might have people believe, especially the notoriously spotty mmWave option. While mmWave 5G is faster, its range is greatly reduced which means finding an area with support for it can be tricky.
