Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5 lineup will include support for 5G networks and several rumors have suggested that at least some of the new iPhone will offer support for both sub-6GHz and mmWave networks, the two different 5G technologies that carriers are currently implementing.
mmWave, which is the fastest technology, provides shorter distance coverage, and will be used in dense areas like large cities. Meanwhile, the slower but longer-distance sub-6GHz network will be offered in suburban and rural areas.
Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that due to the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis, shipments of Apple’s mmWave-enabled 5G iPhones could be weaker than expected this year and next year.
In a new investor’s note for TFI Securities (via MacRumors), Kuo says shipment estimates for Apple’s mmWave-enabled 5G iPhones are likely to be several million units lower than expected, as the global 5G millimeter-wave base station installation is lower than expected.
Kuo estimates that shipments of millimeter-wave iPhones in 2020 and 2021 will be about 4-6 million and 25-35 million, respectively, which is lower than the market consensus of 10-20 million and 40-50 million units.