# [How Apple Built 5G Into Its New iPhones](https://www.wired.com/story/how-apple-built-5g-new-iphones/)

> reporter: 林俊安

> [iPhone 12](https://youtu.be/cnXapYkboRQ)


* 5G testing for iPhone 12
* iPhone 12 have be tested on more than 100 networks
* Since 5G operates across a confusing patchwork of frequencies, so iPhone 12 have to:
* ack additional chips
* radio frequency filters
* multiple antennas
> 5G is **“a zoo of different technologies. There is one standard, but it can be interpreted in different ways.”** - SWARUN KUMAR
* Apple's behavior on 5G phone
* 5G was probably destined to disappoint at first, given the hype around it.
* Apple is showing how Iphone12 could make a smartphone behave like a game console by offloading computation
* 5G's possibility
* 5G's transfer speeds reaching 10 gigabits per second—100 times faster than 4G speeds
* Developers will build new services on 5G
* 5G's scenarios: connect self-driving cars, industrial machinery, medical devices, and smart toasters to the cloud.
* Different wireless spectrum.
* The 5G wireless standard is designed to make the most of different chunks of wireless spectrum.
* Making the most of 5G means using a mix of all these frequencies.
* As a general rule, the lower frequencies offer more range but lower speeds while the higher frequencies provide superfast speeds but only cover a few hundred meters and are highly susceptible to interference.


* US network providers for 5G
* lower frequencies: US network providers have only offered some 5G spectrum slices. T-Mobile and AT&T have focused on low- and mid-frequencies, providing greater coverage but speeds barely above 4G.
* higher frequencies: Verizon has mostly offered ultrawideband 5G, providing download speeds of almost a gigabit per second but only in very small downtown areas.
* mid-band: In US, only a limited amount of mid-band frequency, which offers a good mix of speed and range, is available.
* Many of the 5G phones are only designed to work with one variant of 5G.
* Those sold in Europe, for instance, typically do not support ultrawideband, since it is less common there.
* iPhone 12 are designed to use a range of frequency bands
* All four models of the iPhone 12 are designed to use a range of frequency bands encompassing most of the low, mid, and high frequencies used for 5G
* “Customers don’t need to think about what spectrum their preferred operator deploys.”
* Battery life affected by 5G
* smart data mode lets apps use 5G networks only when they really need to.
* “Put it this (5G) way,” Kumar says.
* “If I upgrade my phone right now, 5G is not going to be the reason.”