On Wednesday Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple may be planning to introduce a new iPhone Model Aimed at Mid-Tier & Emerging Markets next Spring." In the report we pointed out that Apple may decide to introduce Touch ID under the display so that new mid-tier iPhone would modernize its look by not using the old Home Button design that would make the phone look like a relic. Apple has a few patents on Touch ID under the display (01 & 02).
A new announcement made by Qualcomm today at the IFA 2019 trade show suggests that a lower cost 5G solution will launch next year. While Qualcomm's press release on this development mentions OEMs like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, realme, Motorola LG and Nokia adopting Qualcomm's 5G technology for mid-tier smartphones, the question becomes could Apple take advantage of Qualcomm's new lower-end 5G connectivity solution for lower-end iPhones and possibly the rumored mid-tier iPhone for Q2 2020?
With a new multi-year Qualcomm-Apple agreement now in place, Qualcomm may be willing to work with Apple on a version of their new 5G solution for lower-end iPhones for late 2020. In a long shot, it could actually debut on the rumored mid-tier iPhone in Q2 2020.
Samsung stated at IFA 2019 that it would use Qualcomm's new mid-tier 5G solution in their popular lower cost A90 smartphone in Europe that is currently using its own 5G chips. That could lower costs for the A90, making it more competitive against Apple's lower end iPhone XR.
Considering that most mid-tier smartphones from Chinese competitors will be adopting Qualcomm's lower cost 5G solution in their smartphones starting in late 2019 or early 2020, Apple will be the only major smartphone player without a 5G solution at any price level.
On Wednesday it was announced that Microsoft has partnered with South Korea's number one mobile carrier SK Telecom to build a cloud gaming platform supported by the 5G network.
Starting next month, a pilot version of Project xCloud will be available for LTE and 5G subscribers of SKT. Users can experience various games stored in the cloud without downloading them to their devices.
Supported by SKT’s 5G network, Microsoft's high-resolution games in the cloud can be accessible on smartphones instead of the previous wireless controller for console games.
Korea is the fourth-largest gaming country with the market value worth about 13 trillion won ($10.8 billion).
High Quality, online gaming delivering high-end gaming titles will be one of the key 5G killer apps for 2020 and bringing 5G to lower end smartphones is going to be a big selling point for Android phone OEMs.
While Apple is certain to have 5G iPhones for September 2020, the rumored mid-tier iPhone for the spring of 2020 would be a welcomed development, especially if it launched with a version of Qualcomm's lower end 5G chips.
Yet for now the new mid-tier iPhone is nothing more than a rumor, so it's nothing that we can bank on. Adding a Qualcomm lower-end 5G solution would be an even bigger stretch at best, even if that would provide Apple with a means of competing with Android competitors head-on for the first three quarters of 2020, especially in China.
Instead, Apple is banking on their new Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade services coming out in the coming days or weeks to will keep their fan base excited and too busy to care about 5G over the next year.
With that being said, Apple could still adopt Qualcomm's lower-end 5G solutions in September 2020 so that 5G connectivity could be extended beyond their next-gen top-tier iPhones. Who will want to buy a cheaper iPhone XS Max in September 2020 if doesn't offer 5G connectivity? This is likely where Qualcomm's new lower-end 5G solution could be utilized by Apple.
For those interested, read Qualcomm's press release that was published earlier today about their new lower-end 5G solutions here.
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