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Kuo: 2019 iPhones and New iPad Pro Models in Late 2019 to Early 2020 to Adopt New Antenna Technology

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Apple plans to use modified-PI (MPI) material for most antennas in 2019 iPhones, rather than the liquid crystal polymer (LCP) material used for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR antennas, according to the latest research note from reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, obtained by MacRumors.

2018-iphone-trio.jpg

Kuo believes that LCP limits the RF performance of the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR antennas due to current technology limitations and production issues. This puts the RF performance of MPI material at least on par with LCP, despite MPI being easier and cheaper to produce.

While switching to MPI material for 2019 iPhone antennas appears to be a no-brainer decision for Apple, Kuo expects that LCP will still be the primary material for 5G antennas in 2020 iPhones, as he believes that the production issues limiting the RF performance of LCP will be resolved by then.

In today's note, Kuo also said he expects Apple to use LCP material in future iPad models, starting from the late fourth quarter of 2019.

ipadprosizecomparison-800x653.jpg

In a separate research note last month, which has only been seen by Taiwanese media so far, Kuo said two new iPad Pro models with the same 11-inch and 12.9-inch screen sizes as the current models will enter mass production between the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020.

Kuo said those new iPad Pro models will feature flexible circuit boards using LCP, but we've yet to receive that research note in English, so we cannot confirm any further details at this time.

Article Link: Kuo: 2019 iPhones and New iPad Pro Models in Late 2019 to Early 2020 to Adopt New Antenna Technology
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/05/05/kuo-lcp-antennas-2019-iphones-ipads/
MacRumors said:



Apple plans to use modified-PI (MPI) material for most antennas in 2019 iPhones, rather than the liquid crystal polymer (LCP) material used for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR antennas, according to the latest research note from reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, obtained by MacRumors.
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What is MPI, Modified-Pi isn't clear enough, you do explain LCP (Liquid crystal polymer) though.
 
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For those wondering - like me - MPI is Modified Polyimide.

From what I can gather (I have designed antennas on LCP materials), I know there was a delivery problem with LCP for one major manufacturer as a sub-supplier stopped production of certain base materials.

LCP had good performance up to 77GHz IIRC.

I presume MPI may allow easier integration with flex-rigid designs - perhaps also better heat handling in solder phases and probably lower cost (for Apple profitz)
 
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Textime said:
Is it just me or are iPhone rumors just getting really boring
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What is it you’re expecting that would be really exciting? Part of that, is that there’s only so much technology/advancements Apple is going to introduce each year, such as Face ID, the next major revision will be the ‘triple lens camera’ this fall in all likeliness. In general, I would say consumers generally don’t really see/care for all the advancements that smart phones include today. There’s a much larger demographic on a site like this that follows Apple and care about iPhone upgrades , when the general consumer really pays only attention to the marketing Apple emphasizes on billboards/TV, etc.
 
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ghanwani said:
The whole product line up is boring. And to top if off, updates to that lineup have slowed to a trickle.
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Another one, so what are you expecting Apple to introduce that would be really exciting? Have do you taken consideration maybe it’s not the products that are not exciting, maybe it’s your attitude towards these products or they just don’t appeal to you? Also, the AirPods, HomePod and Apple Watch weren’t exciting products? They just revamped the iPads including Face ID, I mean, what is it that you want them to do to make the products ‘exciting’?
 
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laz232 said:
For those wondering - like me - MPI is Modified Polyimide.

From what I can gather (I have designed antennas on LCP materials), I know there was a delivery problem with LCP for one major manufacturer as a sub-supplier stopped production of certain base materials.

LCP had good performance up to 77GHz IIRC.

I presume MPI may allow easier integration with flex-rigid designs - perhaps also better heat handling in solder phases and probably lower cost (for Apple profitz)
Click to expand...

Thanks. May I ask why MPI is New Antenna Technology ?

My guess is that Apple wanted LCP to be the one size fit all solution, since it works with mmWave. As they move towards 5G they will have 2 - 3 years of experience with LCP then. May be LCP isn't quite ready for prime time.
 
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alpi123 said:
They have always been. Rumours rarely show us any exciting news that Apple could be cooking up.
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That’s because there’s not really much to show in terms of hardware leaks, being that iPhone isn’t expected to change dramatically with hardware on an annual basis, aside from the multiple ‘triple lens camera’ rumors we have seen recently, I would expect that to be the most major hardware upgrade for 2019.
 
Relentless Power said:
Another one, so what are you expecting Apple to introduce that would be really exciting? So, the AirPods and Apple Watch weren’t exciting products? They just revamped the iPads including Face ID, I mean, what is it that you want them to do to make the products ‘exciting’?
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They probably just want folding phones and crazy designs that will never catch on to mainstream use. Apple defined the smartphone and tablet for everyone so they are a victim of their own success by being locked into "boring" design language. You don't change the standard in tech unless you have nothing to lose like Samsung or small scale Chinese phone makers.
 
Relentless Power said:
Another one, so what are you expecting Apple to introduce that would be really exciting? Have do you taken consideration maybe it’s not the products that are not exciting, maybe it’s your attitude towards these products or they just don’t appeal to you? Also, the AirPods, HomePod and Apple Watch weren’t exciting products? They just revamped the iPads including Face ID, I mean, what is it that you want them to do to make the products ‘exciting’?
Click to expand...
Think people most expect massive upgrades each year...think for many IOS 13 should bring more new features than anything
 
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