iPhone 12 and later models could get 5G services in India by December, when Apple plans to release an update to its iOS operating system after testing and validating the handsets on India’s 5G networks, according to the latest ET report.
As the subject has been pushed to the highest levels of both companies, senior executives from Apple and Bharti Airtel will meet this week to discuss the deployment timeframe for software updates to 5G-capable iPhones so that they support the Indian telco’s 5G network, according to the report.
In the meeting, Apple and Airtel will talk about what caused the delay and make a plan for when iPhone users will be able to get the updates they need to use 5G services from the company. According to sources close to the company, Apple is actively testing 5G versions of the iPhone across both the Airtel and Reliance Jio networks.
They claimed that whenever a new carrier launches their 5G network, Apple will take some time to test and validate its devices, and only when it is confident that the network will provide the optimal experience on iPhones will it release the update enabling 5G network access on the eligible devices. A list of Airtel 5G compatible smartphones were recently published.
Apple offers 5G-enabled iPhones starting with the iPhone 12, but none of them support Airtel or Reliance Jio’s networks currently. Even some Samsung phones and Google’s Pixel 6a doesn’t support it, and the software update is expected to enable it by December.
Furthermore, smartphone brands such as Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, and Realme Android phones support Airtel’s non-standalone 5G Plus network, which went live in eight Indian cities earlier this month. Reliance Jio’s 5G service is built on a separate network and requires an update to run, analysts say. realme has already pushed updates to its GT series phones to enable Jio 5G support, which went live in beta in 4 cities recently.
According to the ET report,
Apple is presently testing their devices in cities like Mumbai and Delhi on Airtel’s 5G network, and may roll out the update supporting 5G to supported iPhone models by December.