Apple will launch its first iPhone 5G in 2020 with the Intel modem [Report]

Apple plans to launch the first iPhone 5G in 2020 with an Intel 8161 modem, reports Fast Company.

Intel is expected to be the only modems provider for the future smartphone, which will allow Qualcomm to stay out of the Apple supply chain. A precursor of the 8161 called 8060 is under development, but the chip would apparently suffer from heat dissipation problems. A source tells Fast Company that Apple is not satisfied with Intel and that these problems are probably to blame.

Many mobile operators, including Verizon and AT & T in the United States, will first use the millimeter wave spectrum (between 30 and 300 GHz) to connect the first 5G phones. But the millimeter wave signal requires heavy loads from the modem chips, explains our source. This causes the release of higher than normal thermal energy levels inside the phone, to such an extent that heat can be felt outside the phone. The problem also affects the life of the battery. The heat generated by a component of the device is always converted from the electricity stored in the battery.

It does not appear that the problems are serious enough to prompt Apple to call Qualcomm for 5G modems. However, the company would have had conversations with MediaTek as Plan B. Intel still needs to make improvements because Apple is following the first wave of 5G smartphones unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in February.

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