Qualcomm’s Expects 200 Million 5G Handsets to Hit Market by 2020, Including iPhone

Qualcomm stated Wednesday it anticipated 200 million 5G smartphones to be sold by next year, along with flagship devices launching next fall, a reference Wall Street took as a hint that Apple would offer the faster technology by 2020.

Next-generation 5G smartphones are anticipated to make tasks like watching videos or playing video games on mobile networks as good as or better than on a Wi-Fi connection.

Once 5G networks are extensively available someday next year, Qualcomm, the world’s largest provider of smartphone chips, and its competitors stand to benefit because the phones would require more chips to achieve the boost.

Apple, a Qualcomm client, has not stated when it will roll out 5G. However, Qualcomm Chief Financial Officer Akash Palkhiwala stated on an investor name there would be “two inflection points” for 5G chips by 2020.

One would be in the spring when corporations like Samsung and several Chinese handset manufacturers are inclined to introduce new phones. “The second inflection point might be in the fall timeframe, when one other set of flagship phones will adopt 5G,” Palkhiwala stated.

Fall is when Apple and Alphabet Inc launch new fashions, and Kinngai Chan of Summit Insights Group stated he anticipated Apple to undertake Qualcomm’s 5G modem chip for some of these gadgets.

Qualcomm’s 5G market estimate, disclosed throughout a fourth-quarter earnings report, is the first from the company.

Competitors MediaTek, Samsung Electronics, and Huawei Technologies will also manufacture 5G chips. Still, Qualcomm stands to collect patent licensing revenue from every 5G gadget and sell chips for most of the costliest phones.

Qualcomm’s 5G units estimate is around 60% more than research agency IDC’s 123.5 million forecasts and Goldman Sachs’ 120 million.