Qualcomm Boss Seemingly Confirms Secret 5G iPhone Apple Is Working On

Apple launched this year the iPhone 11 series, which is, by far, doing good in terms of consumer reception translated as sales. But, it appears that the Cupertino-based tech giant is secretly working on a new iPhone scheduled to release next year. In fact, Qualcomm, one of Apple’s major suppliers, may have recently confirmed some of the speculations about this upcoming iPhone.

Qualcomm CFO Akash Palkhiwala has hinted on something Apple fans should be interested in, that is, the new iPhone will be released with 5G. During Qualcomm’s earnings reveal, the CFO shared that the company is scheduled to ship 200 million units of 5G smartphone chips in 2020 to a couple of infection points. The first is during the launch of the massively speculated Samsung Galaxy S11 in February, and the second is in the fall time frame when another set of flagship devices will need 5G, the executive revealed.

While the Qualcomm executive did not explicitly states the name of other companies, it leaves many fans to speculate. The only major smartphone upgrades that apparently launch in the fall of 2020 is the Samsung Galaxy Note and the Google Pixel 5. The Galaxy Note has already packed 5G in 2019, and the Pixel 5 will most definitely have 5G but probably not enough units to boost Qualcomm’s number. And, there is the iPhone 2020 or the iPhone 12 from Apple.

It can be recalled that Apple held off releasing 5G-ready iPhones this year because of practical and strategic reasons. The technology is very young at this point, and Apple would not want to compromise its iPhones with something not so stable and widespread yet. 5G-ready smartphones are reportedly draining their batteries fast when the next-generation wireless connectivity is activated.

Qualcomm’s 200 million estimate is not really surprising considering that 2020 iPhones will have these 5G chips, according to Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon. TFI Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also predicted in July that the 2020 iPhone would pack with a 5G chip. The Cupertino-based tech giant has also mentioned its 5G plans.

But, 5G is just one of the many features that will be in the 2020 iPhones, according to Forbes. The upcoming iPhone series will have a new form factor and new screen sizes. It will ditch the Lightning port, introduce ProMotion display, reintroduce Touch ID, and will add 3D long-range camera, says Forbes. But, given these specs, expect a spike in the price of 2020 iPhone.