iPhone users ALERT! Update to enable 5G is coming by December

iPhone users alert! If you have been impatiently waiting for 5G airwaves to hit your iPhone, there is good news. News is that Apple and Airtel are planning to engage in talks later this week to decide on a 5G support release on compatible iPhones. The 5G update is coming to iPhones in India by December 2022, and that will enable Airtel's 5G support on the devices. Apple is yet to make any official announcements on this front.

Based on a report from The ET Telecom, it is said that the iPhone will get the software update to enable 5G network support. “Apple is presently testing their devices in cities like Mumbai and Delhi on Airtel's 5G network, and may roll out the update supporting 5G to supported iPhone models by December,” the person said in the report to the publication. At the moment, the iPhones in India do not support 5G networks.

iPhone 5G update coming soon

In India, Airtel is utilising the non-standalone variant of 5G network, which means the data connectivity will piggyback on the 4G LTE services when the network isn't available. Reliance Jio, on the other hand, will be using the standalone version of 5G and could guarantee faster 5G speeds.

Apple's iPhones support both standalone and non-standalone versions of 5G in India, and hence, they should be able to support both Jio and Airtel 5G networks. This includes the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, and iPhone SE 3rd Gen.

The same case stands for some Samsung and Google flagships, all of which are due to get the 5G support update. However, almost all of 5G smartphones from brands like Realme, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo support all flavours of 5G out of the box. Even Samsung's latest Galaxy S22 series as well as the latest generation of foldable phones support Airtel's 5G Plus network right now.

On the other hand, Jio says its 5G network will start rolling out from Diwali and a country-wide rollout is expected to be available by March 2024.