Even amongst the recent kerfuffle as to who Apple might be getting its 5G modems from, Chinese company Huawei, which develops its own processors and modems, has indicated that it might be interested in selling them to Apple.
Huawei has developed a 5G Balong 5000 chipset, but, as with the company’s processors, it has previously refused to supply its components to third-party companies. An anonymous source has stated that Huawei is now “open” to selling the 5G chips, but only to Apple.
The rumor mill has stated that Apple is struggling with the rollout of 5G, and might be planning to introduce support for 5G technology in 2020. Unfortunately, Intel, Apple’s current chip supplier, might not have its 5G LTE chips ready by then.
Apple is also involved in an ongoing legal battle with Qualcomm, and is unlikely to use that company’s chips for its 5G purposes. Apple is also said to be speaking with both Samsung and Mediatek about 5G chips for its 2020 iPhones.
Finally, Apple is currently working on its own LTE chip designs for next-gen iPhones, through this technology is not expected to be ready until 2021.
Huawei’s Balong 5000 would potentially be suitable for Apple devices with support for sub-6 and mmWave 5G networks along with backwards compatibility with LTE networks, but there has been no word that Apple has expressed interest in Huawei’s technology.
Apple and Huawei aren’t thought to be the closest of allies, and have historically been competitors for the past several years.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.