iPhone 13 said to support faster 5G — What that means for you

Apple iPhone 13 rumors
(Image credit: Apple)

We are at least five months away from the release of the iPhone 13, but the rumor mill is churning at breakneck speeds. With rumors ranging from a 120Hz Mini-LED display to a vapor cooling system, tiny batteries, 1TB of storage, and a smaller camera notch that houses a telephoto lens, we're left wondering what the iPhone 13 won't do. 

The latest reported rumor is that iPhone 13 will support millimeter wave (mmWave) 5G outside the United States. Currently, the iPhone 12 only supports the mmWave 5G technology in the U.S. but is reported to be coming to multiple nations when the iPhone 13 is released in the fall of 2021.

Apple leaker and supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently the technology would be coming to several countries. A note seen by iMore, states iPhone 13 handsets will be sold in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan, and major European mobile operators and will support mmWave 5G. 

iMore also reported back in February that the Qualcomm X60 modem would be used in the upcoming iPhone 13, which is supposed to improve the 5G connection and allow the iPhone to use both mmWave sub-6GHz bandwidths together for stronger 5G performance.  

For those who don't know, mmWave is considered by some to be true 5G as it allows for the fastest speeds. Unfortunately, those higher-frequency bands, while ultra-fast, are also ultra-short range. As it stands, mmWave can only be found in a handful of cities and only in specific areas within those cities. 

I wonder what the next iPhone 13 rumor will be; maybe it will be made of vibranium and get me into Wakanda or pay my taxes for me. More realistically, I'm hoping Apple brings Mini-LED technology to the iPhone along with faster refresh rates. 

Mark Anthony Ramirez

Mark has spent 20 years headlining comedy shows around the country and made appearances on ABC, MTV, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, Food Network, and Sirius XM Radio. He has written about every topic imaginable, from dating, family, politics, social issues, and tech. He wrote his first tech articles for the now-defunct Dads On Tech 10 years ago, and his passion for combining humor and tech has grown under the tutelage of the Laptop Mag team. His penchant for tearing things down and rebuilding them did not make Mark popular at home, however, when he got his hands on the legendary Commodore 64, his passion for all things tech deepened. These days, when he is not filming, editing footage, tinkering with cameras and laptops, or on stage, he can be found at his desk snacking, writing about everything tech, new jokes, or scripts he dreams of filming.