Apple will almost certainly
use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon
X55 modem in the iPhone 12thanks to the settled lawsuits and licensing agreements
between Apple and Qualcomm, that all premium
iPhones will have the X55 modem. Lower-end models
might even have that modem, but with the 5G radio
disabled via software.
This would give iPhones one of the very best cellular
modems around, with support for lots of LTE features
and global networks, as well as the most advanced
5G available at the time. It doesn’t necessarily put it
ahead of anything on the Android front, though: Android
phones with the X55 modem will ship throughout 2020.
As far as other wireless features go, we can expect
continued support for Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, NFC
and ultra-wideband (UWB). The latter was a surprise
addition for the iPhone 11, but I don’t expect another
wireless surprise is in the works for the iPhone 12.Apple will almost certainly
use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon
X55 modem in the iPhone 12
thankstothesettledlawsuitsandlicensingagreements
betweenAppleandQualcomm,thatallpremium
iPhoneswillhavetheX55modem.Lower-endmodels
mightevenhavethatmodem,butwiththe5Gradio
disabledviasoftware.
ThiswouldgiveiPhonesoneoftheverybestcellular
modemsaround,withsupportforlotsofLTEfeatures
andglobalnetworks,aswellasthemostadvanced
5Gavailableatthetime.Itdoesn’tnecessarilyputit
aheadofanythingontheAndroidfront,though:Android
phoneswiththeX55modemwillshipthroughout2020.
Asfarasotherwirelessfeaturesgo,wecanexpect
continuedsupportforWi-Fi6,Bluetooth5,NFC
andultra-wideband(UWB).Thelatterwasasurprise
additionfortheiPhone11,butIdon’texpectanother
wirelesssurpriseisintheworksfortheiPhone12.