As Indian authorities press mobile phone manufacturers to adopt the high-speed network, Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics announced on Wednesday that they will upgrade the software for their 5G-enabled phones in India by December.
According to industry sources, Apple’s most recent models, which include the iPhone 14, 13, 12, and iPhone SE, will receive software updates. These models do not yet support the network.
Apple issued a statement in which it stated, “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 is completed.”
“In December, iPhone users will begin receiving a software update that will enable 5G.”
On October 1, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the availability of 5G services, which rival Bharti Airtel targeted at eight cities while leading telecom operator Reliance Jio stated it would make the service available in four cities.
A spokesperson for Samsung India stated that the company would release updates for all of its 5G devices by the middle of November.
Executives from Apple, Samsung, Vivo, and Xiaomi, in addition to telecom operators Reliance, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, attended a meeting on Wednesday that focused on the adoption of 5G.
According to the notice for the closed-door meeting, one of the items on the agenda is “prioritizing” the release of software upgrades to support the high-speed network.
One of the industry sources stated that, despite discussions between smartphone manufacturers and telecom players, it is taking time to resolve compatibility issues between the specific 5G technology used by Indian telecom companies and phone software.