In Delhi, Airtel 5G network is working only at few locations near Connaught Place, Barakhamba Road, Pragati Maidan and not to forget at Airtel’s own office campus in Delhi/NCR. So, when will iPhones support 5G in India? Apple in its official statement said that by December 2022, 5G-enabled iPhones will get a software update for 5G support.
At the India Mobile Congress (IMC 2022) earlier this month, 5G services were officially launched by Airtel in India while major telcos like Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea are expected to launch 5G soon. In Delhi, Airtel 5G network is working only at a few locations near Connaught Place, Dwarka, Barakhamba Road, Pragati Maidan and not to forget around Airtel’s own office campus in Delhi/NCR as of October 12, 2022. Having said that, Airtel is said to be rapidly increasing its 5G presence in Delhi.
Apart from Delhi, Airtel 5G services will be rolled out in 7 more cities like Varanasi, Nagpur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Siliguri. But note that 5G availability is limited only to some pockets of these cities.
While finding 5G network is an issue, the biggest disappointment is the fact that people using 5G-supported iPhones are not able to connect to the Airtel 5G network because Apple doesn’t support 5G in India right now. Airtel has already listed out the devices that are supporting 5G at the moment on their official website. And that list doesn’t feature iPhones yet.
So, when will iPhones support 5G in India? Well, you will have to wait till the end of 2022. Apple in its official statement said that by December 2022, 5G-enabled iPhones will get a software update for 5G support.
“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,” said Apple.
Talking about other brands, 5G is supported by a few Samsung handsets along with some handsets by Chinese players like Realme, OnePlus, Oppo, Xiaomi and others. Samsung has promised to add 5G support in all its 5G-enabled phones by November 2022.
“Samsung has pioneered 5G technology development since 2009 and took the leading role in standardising 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 end of November 2022, enabling Indian consumers to experience 5G seamlessly,” said a Samsung India spokesperson.
As for Google, while Pixel 7 and 7 Pro are 5G-enabled devices, currently, 5G is not available on them. “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,” said Google in a statement.