
Apple knows 5G is about infrastructure, Not mobile phones - evo_9
https://www.cringely.com/2018/11/21/apple-knows-5g-is-about-infrastructure-not-mobile-phones/
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__d
I think the more interesting question is how fast Apple can get its own radio
hardware online. I think the switch to Intel is just a softening-up tactic in
the battle with Qualcomm, which is really about licensing their patents at a
reasonable price-per-chip for Apple's own 5G (or 5G+) implementation.

It's not clear how long Apple has been working on a baseband controller, but
it's not something that can be done quickly. I doubt it'll be 2021, or even
2022. But it's a significant non-Apple component with plenty of room to
innovate, so it seems inevitable that they'll tackle it sooner or later.

In the meantime, they'll use Intel's hardware until they get a deal with
Qualcomm. No-one buys an iPhone to have the latest-and-greatest technical
specs: the lack of 5G won't hurt them in the short term.

[https://www.businessinsider.com.au/apple-deleted-job-
listing...](https://www.businessinsider.com.au/apple-deleted-job-listing-
shows-plans-design-5g-modem-2018-4)

[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-15/apple-
rec...](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-15/apple-recruiting-
chip-engineers-to-work-in-qualcomm-s-backyard)

[https://www.technobuffalo.com/2018/11/16/apple-hiring-san-
di...](https://www.technobuffalo.com/2018/11/16/apple-hiring-san-diego-
qualcomm-5g-modem/)

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Nokinside
Apple was behind even in LTE adoption, so it's not a big deal.

5G marketers really dropped the ball if even people like Cringley can't think
anything other than bandwidth.

5G phone can use 5G features as an anchor for services that go trough 4G
network, Wi-Fi when 5G NR is not present. 5G is designed with small home cells
in mind, so there is potential for quick indoor takeoff.

Another question is of how fast services using 5G will emerge. If could
services similar to Cloudflare's workers or AWS Lambda can be pushed into the
edge computing, you have soon very low latency services that make 5G phones
appear to user like very powerful computers with low latency.

