Apple’s 5G iPhone is coming

The tech giant is late to the 5G party but there’s good news on the horizon.

In this file photo taken on November 3, 2017 an Apple employee demonstrates the app switcher on the iPhone X at the Apple Store Union Square, in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage / AFP)

Apple is set to capitalise on the impending 5G craze and release not one but two 5G-enabled models in 2020, according to a respected industry analyst.

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a strong track record when it comes to past Apple rumours, said in a research note that Apple will release three OLED iPhones next year, with the 5.4-inch and 6.7-inch model to be 5G-enabled.

Apple will also release a 6.1-inch model that will only be equipped with an LTE modem, the report says.

If those screen sizes are correct, it means Apple’s XS is getting smaller, and its XS Max is getting bigger.

The US tech giant is relatively late to the 5G party, with market leader Samsung releasing a 5G phone earlier this year as have rivals including Oppo and Huawei.

The technology will mean 5G users can reach download speeds of 100 mb/s at minimum — around the same as the top-tier NBN download speeds today.

According to Mr Kuo, every iPhone released in 2021 should support 5G, while Apple will also have its own 5G modem ready by between 2022 and 2023, meaning it would be less reliant on current supplier Qualcomm. Apple and Qualcomm settled a multi-billion dollar lawsuit earlier this year.

As The Australian reported last month, smartphone sales are falling in Australia with both Apple and Samsung feeling the brunt of the declines.

Research major Gartner found that smartphone sales totalled 2.04 million in the first quarter of 2019 in Australia, down a hefty 18.4 per cent from almost 2.5 million in the same quarter a year earlier.