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The Government of India had recently called up executives from Apple, Samsung, and other smartphone makers for their delay in rolling out updates that would enable 5G services in 5G-supported devices.
While users of most budget 5G devices from manufacturers like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo were able to access 5G internet on their phones, users who had flagships from Samsung and Apple were not able to use 5G services, even though their handsets supported the 5G bands that are being used in India.
The situation is particularly concerning because of Apple. Given how most foreign dignitaries visiting India will be using an iPhone and how most of our ministers and staff use iPhones for security reasons, Apple must launch an update that enables 5G on their devices soon.
Apple has now announced that iPhone users in India will be able to access 5G networks by Indian telcos by December this year, when they will roll out the necessary updates to enable 5G devices on iPhones that have the required bands.
Apple put out a statement saying:
“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. 5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December.”
Similarly, by November this year, Samsung announced that they would be rolling out updates for all their smartphones with the required 5G bands.
Samsung India put out a statement saying:
“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.”
Google, whose Pixel 7 and 7 Pro are devices that support 5G but don’t have 5G enabled on them, put out a similar statement:
“Pixel 7, 7 Pro and Pixel 6a are 5G capable devices. We are actively working with the Indian carriers to enable functionality at the earliest.”
India witnessed the launch of 5G services in the country on October 1, the inaugural day of the 2022 edition of the Indian Mobile Congress in Delhi. Bharti Airtel became the first Indian Telco operator to launch 5G services in India. Reliance Jio launched its 5G services on October 5, whereas Vodafone Idea is expected to launch 5G soon.
