NEW DELHI: Leading mobile phone manufacturers, Apple and Samsung said on Wednesday that currently, their devices are not 5G compatible in India.
According to statements by the two companies, Apple will start rolling out 5G technology for iPhone users in December while Samsung users will have to wait another month to use the service.
“We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance are completed. 5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December,” said Apple in a statement.
The statements come after the government has nudged mobile manufacturers like Apple and Samsung for faster updation of their phones to support 5G networks.
The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has invited smartphone manufacturers for a meeting on October 12 to discuss the software update. It was chaired by top officials including telecom secretary K Rajaraman and Alkesh Kumar Sharma, secretary, of electronics & information technology. The meeting is believed to be attended by Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme, Vivo, HMD Global, Transsion Electronics and Indian manufacturers Lava, Karbonn and Micromax.
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has started rolling 5G in eight cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi while Jio has started beta trials in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi.
"Samsung has pioneered 5G technology development since 2009 and took the leading role in standardizing 5G technology globally. In India, Samsung has the widest portfolio of 5G devices. We are working closely with our operator partners and are committed to rolling out OTA updates across all our 5G devices by mid-November 2022, enabling Indian consumers to experience 5G seamlessly," said a Samsung India spokesperson.
According to the Airtel website, many models of Samsung including Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, Samsung Flip 3, and Samsung Fold 4 are not 5G compatible and have yet to receive the software update. From Apple are iPhone 14, 13, 12 and iPhone SE don’t support 5G network right now.
According to an Ericsson report, India has witnessed a three-times increase in smartphone users who own a 5G handset, and over 100 million users with 5G-ready smartphones wish to upgrade to a 5G subscription in 2023.
India has 100 million subscribers who have 5G-ready phones, however many devices including Apple or Samsung are not supporting the 5G service at present.