Intel’s 5G modem chips will roll out later this year — but they won’t show up in smartphones until 2020, Intel executives said Friday.
Sandra Rivera, who heads up Intel’s networking chip division, said at a press event that Intel doesn’t expect consumer 5G “products in the market” until 2020, according to a report in Reuters. Sample 5G modems will be available later this year, she indicated, and non-consumer 5G products such as networking equipment will also be available this year.
The comments raise questions about the 5G rollout of its largest customer, Apple.
Rivera’s statement about the timing of 5G products using Intel chips seems to corroborate prior reports on Apple’s 5G plans. Many analysts expect Apple to roll out 5G iPhones in the fall of 2020, when the next-gen networks are more widely available in the U.S., and are anticipating a bit of a sales bump from the faster network option.
However, by that point, Apple may be more than a year behind some of its closest competitors in smartphone sales.
Earlier this week, Samsung introduced a Galaxy S10 5G that will be available this spring, along with four other phones and an array of accessories. Pricing isn’t available yet for the 5G model, and Samsung didn’t specify an exact release date.
“Looking at how 5G is being marketed today, all of these use cases we’re seeing are around the enterprise advantages, like smart city applications,” Brad Akyuz, mobile industry analyst at NPD Intelligence, told TheStreet in January.
Intel shares closed up 2.1% to $52.49 on Friday, and Apple shares were up 1.12% to $172.97.
