Apple’s iPhone 12 line is the first with 5G, meaning the phones can tap into high-speed data from the main cellular carriers in the US. But “high speed” is relative. Depending on carrier and location, downloads are crazy fast or merely akin to 4G LTE. Julio Ojeda-Zapata tried T-Mobile and Verizon 5G.
The latest set of cellular networking standards—collected under the rubric of “5G”—improves mobile networking performance ever closer to Wi-Fi and wired connections, but it’s not worth all the hype. Not yet, anyway.
Despite widely spread misinformation, decades of studies demonstrate that wireless data networks—including newer 5G cellular networks—pose no elevated risk for cancer or other illnesses.
Apple seemingly squeezed Intel into an impossible position by negotiating for a purchase while working on a settlement with Qualcomm. Now Apple has control over a current steady supply of 5G smartphone chips and a path to make its own for future iPhones.
After years of patent battles, Apple and Qualcomm have suddenly dropped all legal action and are now partnering up again, with Apple paying Qualcomm an unspecified licensing fee. Intel dropping its 5G modem development was probably related.