If you've been reading up on the iPhone 11 rumors, you may not be that enthused about what's coming. And you're not alone, as yet another analyst has predicted disappointing sales for this year's flagship phones from Apple.
But if you're willing to wait until 2020, it looks like there's more reasons to be excited, at least based on a new report from J.P. Morgan Chase.
As reported by CNBC, the firm says that Apple will likely release four new iPhones for 2020 and that three of the of the four smartphones will include a 5G modem. The other new iPhone would be a cheaper model.
While other 5G phones are already on the market, such as the Galaxy S10 5G, the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Max and iPhone 11R are all expected to ship with 4G modems. Now that Apple and Qualcomm have settled their patent dispute, Apple is reportedly partnering with Qualcomm for 5G connectivity in its 2020 iPhones.
Based on our 5G testing so far, such as with T-Mobile's 5G in New York City and Verizon 5G in Chicago, we're seeing speeds that are 10 times faster than LTE and in some cases downloads that exceed 1 Gbps. However, it's going to take several months — if not longer — for coverage to become widespread.
J.P. Morgan also says that it expects "all three Sep-2020 iPhones (5.4″/6.1″/6.7″ screen sizes) will adopt OLED displays" and that at least two of the three models will adopt "world facing 3D Sensing (Time of Flight) driving industry leading AR/VR capabilities which can be leveraged by custom built applications (including games).”
Right now Apple has two OLED iPhones in its lineup in the 5.8-inch iPhone XS and 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max. The iPhone XR has a 6.1-inch LCD. Adding a 5.4-inch iPhone would give small phone fans a viable option, while the 6.7-inch iPhone for 2020 would be the largest yet from Apple and make it more competitive with some of the biggest phones on the market. (The Galaxy Note 10+, for example, is expected to be 6.75 inches.)
It's not that the iPhone 11 line doesn't have anything going for it. Rumors point to much-improved camera performance in low light along with an extended zoom range. And Apple should once again smoke the competition with its expected A13 Bionic chip. But if you want an iPhone that's more future proof, the 2020 models may be worth holding out for.
