Ming-Chi Kuo today released a report discussing the 2020 iPhone lineup. As expected, Kuo says that Apple is set to launch the first 5G iPhones later next year. The analyst also says that all three models will feature OLED displays. The report says the new phones will come in 6.7-inch, 5.4-inch, and 6.1-inch screen sizes.
The 6.1-inch OLED model is apparently the successor to the iPhone XR (or whatever this year’s 2019 LCD 6.1-inch iPhone is called) and will support LTE only. The new 6.7-inch and 5.4-inch phones would support 5G mobile data.
The 5G timeline matches with the consensus expectations of the rumor mill. The screen size dimensions line up with specifications listed in a Digitimes report from earlier this year.
For Apple customers wanting a high-end model with a smaller screen than what the current lineup offers, the 5.4-inch OLED 5G model seems to fit the bill. The current iPhone XS is 5.8-inches diagonally, so a move to a 5.4-inch panel would represent a significantly smaller phone in the hand. For iPhone XS Max fans, the rumored 6.7-inch screen implies an even larger phone, an increase from 6.5-inches in the XS Max.
The 5G compatibility in the 2020 iPhone would apparently support both leading standards; that is, both sub-6GHz and mmWave technology. Millimeter wave spectrum is what is being deployed across the United States.
Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple’s in-house 5G baseband chip will not be ready until 2022. This means the next few iPhone generations will heavily depend on Qualcomm baseband chips to connect to the high-speed 5G cellular networks. However, Kuo believes Apple is using its own power amplifier and RF antenna designs.
Obviously, we still haven’t seen Apple’s 2019 ‘iPhone 11’ for real. However, the rumor mill believes the phones will largely resemble the current XS/XR lineup in physical appearance. The 2019 flagship iPhones are believed to feature a triple-camera system, a faster A13 chip, indoor location improvements, AirPods power sharing, and larger internal batteries. The 2019 iPhone XR successor will be upgraded from a single to a dual-camera module.
Despite Intel’s exit from the modem business, Kuo says that the 2019 models will use Intel basebands. Component supply for this year’s devices was presumably set in stone by the time the Qualcomm settlement and Intel news broke.
Apple’s 2019 lineup is expected to be unveiled this fall. Apple’s 2020 5G-capable phones described in today’s Kuo report would not go on sale until fall next year.
