Shipments of mmWave 5G iPhone Expected to be Weaker in 2020 and 2021

Apple is expected to release its iPhone 12 line of devices which will include 5G support later this year. It’s been heavily rumoured that many of the devices in the iPhone 12 family will support sub-6GHz and mmWave networks. However, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects shipments of mmWave supported iPhones to be weaker than expected.

Leading up to the announcement of the iPhone 12, it’s been speculated that Apple has been developing four models for the iPhone 12 family. Based on previous reports, Apple is likely to announce a 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch devices, and a 6.7-inch variant.

It’s currently not known which of these devices will be guaranteed to support 5G networks, or which devices will run of sub-6GHz and mmWave. Though, according to MacRumors, Kuo’s latest investor’s note says that shipments for the mmWave-enabled 5G iPhones are expected to be several million units lower than expected.

It appears as though the global crisis has affected the rollout of global 5G millimetre base station installation. Kuo estimates that shipments of the mmWave iPhone will be lower in 2020 and 2021. Placing a rough guess as to the shipment total, Kuo says 2020’s shipments may come up to be around 4-6 million, while 2021’s maybe closer to 25-35 million. In comparison, the market consensus estimated shipments would be closer to 10-20 million in 2020 and 40-50 million in 2021.

In previous months, Kuo has said that the mmWave 5G iPhones would be supported in five countries including Canada, the US, Japan, the UK, and China. mmWave networks are considered the faster of the two 5G network technologies and will mostly be utilized in larger metro cities and areas. Whereas sub-6GHz networking will be more commonly found in rural, suburban, and urban areas.