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DigiTimes: Apple to Launch MacBooks with Cellular 5G Connectivity in Second Half of 2020
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Apple made a multi-year deal with Qualcomm for 5G modems in their phone, not laptops. New laptops could easily feature Apple's own modems they created by purchasing Intel's 5G modem engineers and patents.
The same logic would apply to the iPad and Apple Watch, though.
lmao yeah 2020 is the light at the end of that pipe line tunnel
The Apple Watch is by design a product dependent on the iPhone. The iPad on the other hand is a good call. I don't know, I guess to me the iPad was always a more mobile device. I could imagine someone having only his iPad at hand, less so with a Macbook though. But that's just me.
If Apple releases its rumored 16" device without 5G, Im totally fine with that. But I can see how some people would profit from 5G on their Macbook.
I am not interested in having a data plan for every device I own. Watch, phone, iPad, Mac, home pod, Apple TV, plus all the stuff my wife has. On the rare occasion I do not have WiFi. Tethering to my iPhone via Bluetooth works seemlessly.
Not everyone has a cellular phone - A self-contained laptop would solve security issues inherent with public wifi.
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Sounds to me like what you need is a jetpack or hotspot device.
Tethering is a great solution but...
I can't tether when roaming despite no roaming charges on my phone.
Sort of defeats the point really.
Then my car has a better 4G ariel than my phone so I tether using the car which has an unlimited data plan.
I doubt "people who don't have a cellular phone but are interested in a $2k MacBook" is a market segment big enough to matter to Apple.
On iOS certain system-level services only work via WiFi (eg, iCloud backup). The same distinction would be needed to be added to macOS and even before considering third-party apps (and extensions, services, etc.) all OS-level network traffic would need to triaged into WiFi-only and WiFi & cellular.
Then, for third-party apps, macOS would need to be modified to only allow Apple-signed binaries to access cellular by default, to enable the feature that allows users to give every third-party binary explicit permission to use cellular or not (as it currently exists in iOS). Given that third-party applications and services aren't always neatly packaged into one app container on macOS, users would sometimes need to select obscurely named headless binaries for that feature to work. Thirdly, lot's of apps might profit from offering internal limits to what can happen over cellular and what only over Wifi (or Ethernet).
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I started reading this presuming that you were being sarcastic, but then can see you are being serious.
Maybe you are lucky, maybe I am unlucky.
For years I have used tethering (either in my office or out and about). Multiple iPhone, iPad, and MBP combos, and it has never not been a pain in the arse. I really wish there was a way to share my data with another sim so I could pop that in a Mifi.
Turn on Tethering, no devices connect, manually try connecting on the MBP, "the connection could not be initialised (or whatever", look at phone, tethering has turned itself off, go back to start, repeat a few times. If you look away from the iPad for what feels like a second the damn thing disconnect.
Hopefully the hotspot feature in ios13 will improve things at least with the iPad.
If I need cellular internet, I'll tether my phone. Don't need Apple hiking up prices unnecessarily.
Well I remember in the earlier days, couple of years ago, tethering on the iPhone was a pain in the ass. But most recently they really polished up the experience. One single click, 2 seconds later you're connected, even if you forgot to activate your hotspot. Connection is as reliable as a phone connection gets.
I'd call it close to perfect. It's gonna eat your battery though.
Depends on carrier and data plan, my carrier only gives me 1gig of hotspot before kicking me down to 2g/3g per month.
This will definitely be a gamechanger, they won't include a SIM card tray it will just be an e-sim like they do on the latest iPhones.
I am pretty sure this is targetted for businesses and will be optional, there are not many laptops available that offer a good embedded solution. 5G is a game changer once rolled out on a larger scale and Apple wants to jump on the bandwagon ahead of time this time. At some point the network infrastructures at companies will just change and adapt to the 5G capabilities.
I do not believe this is a trash rumor, this is logical especially after their purchase why not implement it in all devices.
They see people pay $10 for their apple watch data plan which made carriers happy.
I am pretty sure this is targetted for businesses and will be optional, there are not many laptops available that offer a good embedded solution. 5G is a game changer once rolled out on a larger scale and Apple wants to jump on the bandwagon ahead of time this time. At some point the network infrastructures at companies will just change and adapt to the 5G capabilities.
I do not believe this is a trash rumor, this is logical especially after their purchase why not implement it in all devices.
They see people pay $10 for their apple watch data plan which made carriers happy.
NOt sure but they can get some provisions from eSIM motivations or fees. Just my speculation. But for sure you can drain iPhone battery fast when used as modem whole day. Antennas in MBP will be bigger so it can have better reception then iPhone and many other reasons you could here here. Question will be the extra cost.
So this raises a lot of questions:
Cost
How much are cellular providers going to charge for 5G access? Rumblings suggest more than current 4G LTE plans.
Provider
Will Apple be able to offer 5G service on any and every 5G provider?
Service Coverage
5G is still limited to major metropolitan areas. How relevant will 5G service be to most consumers? How long before 5G is ubiquitous? I doubt 5G will be deployed to those who most need it (I.e. last mile residents who lack other options).
SaaS
Is Apple moving to Software as a Service? Does Apple plan to offer a ChromeBook / NetBook alternative that requires constant connectivity? I could see this. $1099 MacBook with 64GB SSD where everything is online. This coupled with SaaS from third-party software developers could run software on any platform, be it X86 or ARM.
Certainly the option for 5G connectivity will only encourage 3rd party software developers to continue down this path. Ugghh.
My SE connects seamlessly and the few times I have tethered really hasn’t hit my battery very hard, at least not much, if any, more than simply browsing on LTE on my phone.
I have 10GB with my plan. I so rarely use it that I don’t think I have used 10GB in 4 years; however, when I have used it, it has been very convenient.
I mean that’s cool and everything, but you can already tether your phone’s signal for those rare times you’re using your Mac away from WiFi, and you don’t have to pay for a separate data plan.