We have all read the 5 part dissertation of the 5G network here at Good.find.guru. We know 2018 is going to be the year that 5G networks finally set up and start our next stage in human evolution. 5G smartphones will be expanding rapidly in 2019. WE are all really thinking, that’s great an all but it doesn’t matter till there is a 5G iPhone. Well from what we are hearing today It’s going to take until at least 2020 for Apple to make a 5G iPhone available.
Apple is never the first to adapt the new networks, but they are the ones that make it the standard. Apple, has never been very interested in putting cutting-edge wireless tech into its phones first, they want to be able to offer 5G when 5G has the network penetration to be completely utilized. The benefits of 5G, like lower latency and gigabit speeds, aren’t particularly useful for smartphones right now, and Apple would rather wait for coverage to be widely adopted and implemented before trying to integrate a new technology. Completely understandable.
Then we get this bit of news Nokia on Wednesday announced a flat, 3 euro ($3.48) per-device licensing fee for its 5G standards-essential patents. At the same time we are hearing that Ericsson will be charging between $2.50 and $5 based on the cost of a device. Now Qualcomm has said they are licensing its 5G patents at 2.275 percent of a single-mode phone’s total price, and 3.25 percent for multi-mode phones, capping at $400 of course. If you do the math a 5G smartphone could potentially be saddled with over $21 in combined royalty payments. Around $13 will go to Qualcomm regardless of any current spats.
We have not heard from Intel and Huawei yet either on the rate for the 5G chips. While volume fee arrangements could reduce the price the other companies are going to try to push the price up. We do not specifically known what Apple pays per iPhone for 4G technologies. The licensing isn’t as simple as what has been worked out for 5G technologies. The cost is thought to be much higher than the approximate $21 expected for 5G.
Apple and Qualcomm Delay in the 5G iPhone
Apple and Qualcomm have been legally battling this issue since 2016. Even then Apple complained that Qualcomm’s practice of charging royalties on a phone’s entire cost was excessive. They say they should be disallowed since many of the patents involved are part of industry standards. Qualcomm in turn shut off a flow of payments. Apple described them as partial rebates on the royalties. This lead Apple to sue Qualcomm and stop paying royalties. In Turn Apple has designing its 2018 mobile devices to work without any Qualcomm chips. This year’s iPhones are set to use Intel modems exclusively. They are nearly certainly going to skip 5G this time around, since the standard was only finalized in June, and U.S. carriers are only just beginning to deploy coverage.
The Final Thought
These licensing fees will have to be paid no matter who provides the actual 5G modem in Apple’s future smartphone. They aren’t related to hardware, but cover the cost of using patents on the 5G standard itself. So for Now we will just bite our tongues and wait for the 5G iPhone. Between you and me ill pay and extra $21 for the 5G.
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