Apple is planning to increase the availability of 5G mmWave capable iPhone models to more countries around the world with the release of the iPhone 13 later this year, offering even more customers access to the faster and newer technology, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In a research note obtained by MacRumors, Kuo says that infrastructure for mmWave technology will increase substantially this year in places like Canada, Japan, Australia, and major European countries. Apple currently sells the mmWave iPhone 12 in the United States, which allocates to only 30-35% of overall iPhone 12 shipments.
While 5G smartphone shipments increased significantly in 2020, most of them only supported Sub-6 GHz. We believe that mmWave will create more diverse applications than Sub-6 GHz because of the benefits of faster speed and lower latency. The mmWave model of the iPhone 12 only supports the US market, and the shipment allocation of the total iPhone 12 is about 30–35%. We predict that the iPhone 13 mmWave models will be available in more countries (e.g., Canada, Japan, Australia, and major European mobile operators), so the shipment allocation of iPhone 13 mmWave models will increase substantially to 55–60%.
According to the analyst, this year, mmWave capable iPhone 13 models will allocate to 55-60% of shipments, a significant year-over-year increase. In terms of design, compared to the standard 6GHz handsets, mmWave iPhone 12 models feature a visible antenna on the right side of the device. Kuo expects the same antenna design to continue with the 2021 iPhone lineup.
A DigiTimes report earlier this month echoed similar information as Kuo, stating that Apple is expected to boost shipments of the mmWave iPhone this year. mmWave compared to the standard and more mainstream sub-6GHz technology offers faster speeds, but requires more advanced infrastructure and works in limited range.
Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1.
Release Date
Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below.
Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors.
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Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas.
The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year.
Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:21 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.1, which means the update will likely see a public launch next week.
The release candidate includes notes on what's in the update, so we have a full picture of the new features that Apple has included.
macOS Tahoe 26.1 adds AutoMix support over AirPlay, improved FaceTime audio...
Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out.
Processor and Performance
Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Ok so 5g isnt that common just now, but if you are going to buy a shiny new phone for such an enormous amount of money you want it to be good for a few years as these services roll out across the world... or even so that it holds its trade in value to sell it to someone else in a few years time when you upgrade. So I wouldn't buy a phone without this capability: it was my main reason for not buying this year, along with generally being happy with the performance of my existing phone.
When the mmWave works, the speeds are really astonishing. The sports complex in the large market US city I live near has it (I've used it there) and the beach towns on the DelMarVa peninsula are fairly well covered including Dewey, Rehoboth, and Ocean City Maryland. So much so, that last time I traveled to OCMD I didn't bother with the hotel Wifi. It was too slow.
As far as RF exposure, if that's your concern, simply turn off the 5G except when you're using your phone as a data hot spot, or using other data intensive applications. The non mm 5G is really no improvement over LTE right now in most places, and most of the time I'm using a headset or Car Play for conversations.
I had so much 2M and 70CM RF cook my brain in college that I seriously doubt whatever this phone is putting out is going to make a difference at this point. Unless someone hooks it up to a light saber or something....
