The iPhone 13 will reportedly widen support for mmWave, brining it to iPhones sold internationally, rather than just the US models.
mmWave is the fastest flavor of 5G, although it has limited range and building penetration. When the iPhone 12 was released, it only supported mmWave 5G in the US. International models only support 5G bands in the sub-6GHz range.
According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, via MacRumors, Apple is set to change that with the iPhone 13.
While 5G smartphone shipments increased significantly in 2020, most of them only supported Sub-6 GHz. We believe that mmWave will create more diverse applications than Sub-6 GHz because of the benefits of faster speed and lower latency. The mmWave model of the iPhone 12 only supports the US market, and the shipment allocation of the total iPhone 12 is about 30–35%. We predict that the iPhone 13 mmWave models will be available in more countries (e.g., Canada, Japan, Australia, and major European mobile operators), so the shipment allocation of iPhone 13 mmWave models will increase substantially to 55–60%.
Kuo has a solid track record predicting Apple’s next moves. His latest prediction is good news for international iPhone users.