Intel's 5G Chips Won't Appear in Mobile Phones Until 2020 - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Intel's 5G Chips Won't Appear in Mobile Phones Until 2020

Reuters reports that Intel has confirmed it does not expect its 5G chips to be in consumer products until 2020.

Intel Corp executives said on Friday its 5G modem chips will not appear in mobile phones until 2020, raising the possibility its biggest customer, Apple Inc, will be more than a year behind rivals in delivering a device that uses the faster networks.

Intel's timeline is tied closely with Apple's product plans due to Apple's reliance on Intel chips for its iPhone modems. Previously a Qualcomm customer, Apple has been at odds with Qualcomm due to an ongoing legal battle between the two companies. In fact, Qualcomm has been reportedly unwilling to sell its chips to Apple because of the conflict.

Intel 5G Modem
That has left Apple reliant on Intel for its modem chips in the latest line of iPhones, though Apple has been exploring other vendors, and even working to develop its own chips. That plan, however, isn't expected to produce results until 2021, at least.

Apple waiting until 2020 to deliver 5G iPhones doesn't come as a surprise as previous rumors have said the same. This statement by Intel, however, does seem to confirm some of those previous rumors.

Tags: 5G, Intel, Qualcomm
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

rosetta 2

macOS 27 Golden Gate Is the Last to Support Intel Apps via Rosetta 2

Wednesday June 10, 2026 5:39 am PDT by
macOS 27 Golden Gate is the final version of macOS to feature full Rosetta 2 support, meaning the translation layer that keeps Intel-built apps running on Apple silicon Macs is set to disappear entirely with next year's major macOS release. Golden Gate is the first macOS release limited to Apple silicon Macs and marks the end of the road for Intel-based hardware, but the implications reach...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple to Make Chips in US With Intel, Trump Says

Thursday June 18, 2026 2:57 am PDT by
Apple has agreed to work with Intel to manufacture some of its chips in the United States, U.S. president Trump said on Thursday. Intel's stock rose 9 percent in premarket trading following Trump's comments, which appeared in a social media post. Apple was up 0.6 percent in premarket trading. Neither Apple nor Intel have officially commented on the deal, but The Wall Street Journal reporte...
iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Get Two New Perks on iOS 27

Thursday July 2, 2026 6:10 am PDT by
If you pay for certain iCloud+ storage plans beyond the 5GB that Apple offers for free, you will receive two more perks on iOS 27 at no additional cost. A summary of the two new iCloud+ perks on iOS 27:Increased daily usage limits for some new Apple Intelligence features, including image generation in the revamped Image Playground app. HomeKit Secure Video cameras receive generated video...

Top Rated Comments

johnyslats Avatar
96 months ago
I can wait. As much as carriers and smartphone vendors want us to buy into the ‘5G is here’ hype the infrastructure for widespread adoption just won’t be here for some time
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
96 months ago
Just kiss and make up with Qualcomm, Apple!
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KGBguy Avatar
96 months ago
Just kiss and make up with Qualcomm, Apple!
Apple’s Ego is too big for that lol
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
96 months ago
1. iPhone users won't have 5G anywhere in the world
2. People who buy iPhone in 2019 and most of 2020 won't have 5G for as long as they keep their phones (i.e. long after 5G is available everywhere)

Just like with other new tech (LTE, OLED, NFC, USB-C, wireless charging etc.) Apple customers get it last and sometimes years after others.
I remember when LTE came out. It was trash. I had a Samsung phone with LTE and it was slow, spotty, and never worked well.

iPhones didn't have OLED, but still managed to have some of the best screens in the industry.

Apple isn't last to every technology and when they aren't first, they always make it work better.

Apple also has industry leading silicon.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
96 months ago
And this is a problem because?

There is going to be very little actual service coverage in 2019. Not to mention that the 5G chips are massive power drains.

I'm more than happy to wait until 2020 to get a 5G iPhone. This is a non-issue in my mind. I'd like to see continued gains in framework development for App devs, more CPU/GPU power, and better battery life for the 2019 phones.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
96 months ago
But you will have the icon on some phones! ;)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)