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iPhone X Modems in Future iPhones

Andres Cantu

Andres Cantu

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 31, 2015
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8,184
Texas
With Ming-Chi Kuo basically confirming that we'll see the Intel XMM 7560 modem in the 2018 iPhones, how do you feel about the iPhone being late to the 5G party?

The Galaxy S9 should have the Qualcomm x20 modem capable of 1.2 gigabit speeds, which is 2x the current speeds of the iPhone X. To make matters worse, the Galaxy S10 will have the Qualcomm x50 modem capable of 5 gigabit speeds (it'll probably be the first 5G phone): https://wccftech.com/qualcomm-5g-data-connection-achieved/

2019 will come along, and all we'll get is the Intel XMM 7660 modem, which only does 1.6 gigabits: https://wccftech.com/intel-xmm-7660-specs/

And we won't see the first 5G Intel modem (XMM 8060) until the 2020 iPhones: https://wccftech.com/intel-xmm-8060-5g-modem/

If the iPhone will be Intel-modem exclusive, then at least they should try to deliver that 5G modem in 2019, so they can compete with Qualcomm and the Galaxy S10 that year.
 
Not impressed with this move at all. I've always noticed Qualcomm modems provide better results in low signal areas vs Intel.
 
The thing is, do we have any practical usage case that 5G is necessary? Even 4G is enough for me, or LTE.
 
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Freakonomics101 said:
Not impressed with this move at all. I've always noticed Qualcomm modems provide better results in low signal areas vs Intel.
Click to expand...
I agree, and at this point, it doesn't matter whether Apple goes Intel-exclusive or not, since they would keep throttling the Qualcomm models anyway.
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Shirasaki said:
The thing is, do we have any practical usage case that 5G is necessary? Even 4G is enough for me, or LTE.
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Not yet, but the same could have been said for 3G when LTE came out, and the iPhone 5 had it more than one year late also. It's all about timing, and Apple could work better at that, especially considering their growing relationship with Intel for modems.
 
Shirasaki said:
The thing is, do we have any practical usage case that 5G is necessary? Even 4G is enough for me, or LTE.
Click to expand...

There is more to 5G than just speed. There are also things like greater efficiency which directly can impact battery life.
 
seezar said:
There is more to 5G than just speed. There are also things like greater efficiency which directly can impact battery life.
Click to expand...
So consumes less power and provide higher speed? What about the coverage? We all know that 2G network can cover a very large area with the relatively low amount of base stations. 3G and 4G suffer a lot. I am not sure if this applies to 5G. And Australia will take a while to jump into the 5G network.
 
Andres Cantu said:
With Ming-Chi Kuo basically confirming that we'll see the Intel XMM 7560 modem in the 2018 iPhones, how do you feel about the iPhone being late to the 5G party?

The Galaxy S9 should have the Qualcomm x20 modem capable of 1.2 gigabit speeds, which is 2x the current speeds of the iPhone X. To make matters worse, the Galaxy S10 will have the Qualcomm x50 modem capable of 5 gigabit speeds (it'll probably be the first 5G phone): https://wccftech.com/qualcomm-5g-data-connection-achieved/

2019 will come along, and all we'll get is the Intel XMM 7660 modem, which only does 1.6 gigabits: https://wccftech.com/intel-xmm-7660-specs/

And we won't see the first 5G Intel modem (XMM 8060) until the 2020 iPhones: https://wccftech.com/intel-xmm-8060-5g-modem/

If the iPhone will be Intel-modem exclusive, then at least they should try to deliver that 5G modem in 2019, so they can compete with Qualcomm and the Galaxy S10 that year.
Click to expand...

iPhones are never the first to have a wirless tech. Why? Power consumption. First and second generation modems are power hungry. See: iPhone 3G, iPhone 5

So what if the Samsung crap can handle it? That is theoretical speeds, you will never ever see those.
 
jav6454 said:
iPhones are never the first to have a wirless tech. Why? Power consumption. First and second generation modems are power hungry. See: iPhone 3G, iPhone 5

So what if the Samsung crap can handle it? That is theoretical speeds, you will never ever see those.
Click to expand...
Agree with that point, but even if they’ll never reach those speeds, they can still get faster speeds than LTE could.
 
Andres Cantu said:
Agree with that point, but even if they’ll never reach those speeds, they can still get faster speeds than LTE could.
Click to expand...

Again, at what cost? 5 hour battery life? Apple has never released an iPhone with worsenning battery stats. They achieve this by micromanaging power consumption. I doubt they'll put a modem in there if they can't make it sip power to their requirements. They never have, doubt they'll start now.
 
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jav6454 said:
Again, at what cost? 5 hour battery life? Apple has never released an iPhone with worsenning battery stats. They achieve this by micromanaging power consumption. I doubt they'll put a modem in there if they can't make it sip power to their requirements. They never have, doubt they'll start now.
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I can see that point, and also the one about waiting for 5G to be more mature just like they did for LTE.

Still, can Apple really afford to miss 5G for more than one year on a $1,000 phone? Just something to consider.
 
Andres Cantu said:
I can see that point, and also the one about waiting for 5G to be more mature just like they did for LTE.

Still, can Apple really afford to miss 5G for more than one year on a $1,000 phone? Just something to consider.
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iPhone is the #1 selling phone in the world, despite any shortcomings that it might have. People are not going to care that it's missing 5G, especially since there are no actual 5G networks deployed in the wild. Even when there are, it will be specific locations that don't affect a lot of people. By the time 5G is widely available, the modem issues will be resolved.
 
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B4U said:
One of my family member has the phone all covered up with cases and screen protector and the phone still ended up looking like it got ran over by a train.
Click to expand...
I would LOVE to see that phone and get a beat on how much abuse it took.
 
Andres Cantu said:
With Ming-Chi Kuo basically confirming that we'll see the Intel XMM 7560 modem in the 2018 iPhones, how do you feel about the iPhone being late to the 5G party?

The Galaxy S9 should have the Qualcomm x20 modem capable of 1.2 gigabit speeds, which is 2x the current speeds of the iPhone X. To make matters worse, the Galaxy S10 will have the Qualcomm x50 modem capable of 5 gigabit speeds (it'll probably be the first 5G phone): https://wccftech.com/qualcomm-5g-data-connection-achieved/

2019 will come along, and all we'll get is the Intel XMM 7660 modem, which only does 1.6 gigabits: https://wccftech.com/intel-xmm-7660-specs/

And we won't see the first 5G Intel modem (XMM 8060) until the 2020 iPhones: https://wccftech.com/intel-xmm-8060-5g-modem/

If the iPhone will be Intel-modem exclusive, then at least they should try to deliver that 5G modem in 2019, so they can compete with Qualcomm and the Galaxy S10 that year.
Click to expand...
Cool! Too bad my home internet can only reach speeds of 20Mbps! I feel like I'm a little late to the 5g party!
 
I can't think of the time when Apple was first to cellular technology, they made a big deal about the iPhone "3G" or LTE with iPhone 4. I dont think there is any carrier expected to roll out 5G on a widespread basis before 2020? so, what is the big deal about Apple timing their 5G release to that timeline?
 
mtneer said:
I can't think of the time when Apple was first to cellular technology, they made a big deal about the iPhone "3G" or LTE with iPhone 4. I dont think there is any carrier expected to roll out 5G on a widespread basis before 2020? so, what is the big deal about Apple timing their 5G release to that timeline?
Click to expand...

LTE was the 5. And even then limited bands. Probably should have had LTE in the 4s, but early generation LTE modems may have been power hungry and may have required a separate chip.
 
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kevink2 said:
LTE was the 5. And even then limited bands. Probably should have had LTE in the 4s, but early generation LTE modems may have been power hungry and may have required a separate chip.
Click to expand...
Yes, LTE on the 5 was definitely lacking in terms of bands.
 
Andres Cantu said:
With Ming-Chi Kuo basically confirming that we'll see the Intel XMM 7560 modem in the 2018 iPhones, how do you feel about the iPhone being late to the 5G party?

The Galaxy S9 should have the Qualcomm x20 modem capable of 1.2 gigabit speeds, which is 2x the current speeds of the iPhone X. To make matters worse, the Galaxy S10 will have the Qualcomm x50 modem capable of 5 gigabit speeds (it'll probably be the first 5G phone): https://wccftech.com/qualcomm-5g-data-connection-achieved/

2019 will come along, and all we'll get is the Intel XMM 7660 modem, which only does 1.6 gigabits: https://wccftech.com/intel-xmm-7660-specs/

And we won't see the first 5G Intel modem (XMM 8060) until the 2020 iPhones: https://wccftech.com/intel-xmm-8060-5g-modem/

If the iPhone will be Intel-modem exclusive, then at least they should try to deliver that 5G modem in 2019, so they can compete with Qualcomm and the Galaxy S10 that year.
Click to expand...
Why would you need true 5G speed in a iPhone? The only thing you would possibly miss out on is bragging rights.
 
Shirasaki said:
I would LOVE to see that phone and get a beat on how much abuse it took.
Click to expand...
Okay, gotta admit it was little over exaggerated. :p
But the money I spent on getting the cases and protectors was over $200 already...:eek:
(Wait a second, where did you quote me from? Didn't recall posting in this thread before...)
 
B4U said:
Okay, gotta admit it was little over exaggerated. :p
But the money I spent on getting the cases and protectors was over $200 already...:eek:
(Wait a second, where did you quote me from? Didn't recall posting in this thread before...)
Click to expand...
I quote your message appeared in this thread.
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...tomer-complaints.2096608/page-2#post-25626698
MacRumors has a unified quote system that is independent to thread.
BTW, I did not spend any money to protect my phone.
 
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