Apple will wait until at least 2020 to release a 5G iPhone

Apple plans to hold off until at least 2020 before offering an iPhone that can connect to the next generation of high-speed mobile services coming next year, according to people familiar with its plans.

The delay may make it easier for rivals like Samsung Electronics to win over consumers to smartphones that connect to 5G networks, which will provide a leap forward in mobile data speeds and services when these are introduced by a number of telecommunications operators in 2019.

As with 3G and 4G, the two previous generations of mobile technology, Apple will wait as long as a year after the initial deployment of the new networks before its main product gets the capability to access them, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the company’s plans.

Apple’s previous calculations – proven correct – were that the new networks and the first versions of rival smartphones would come with problems such as spotty coverage, making consumers less forced to immediately make the jump. This time, 5G boosters argue the switch is a much bigger speed upgrade, making Apple’s decision to wait riskier. The networks will open the floodgates to new types of mobile computing, 5G advocates said.

The decision to sit on the sidelines may be related to the company’s feud with Qualcomm, the leader in 5G-enabled chips, and its alliance instead with Intel Corp, which will not have chips available in time to support new 5G smartphones in 2019.