Bharti Airtel had listed on its website that none of the iPhone models, including the iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and iPhone 14 series devices, would work on Indian 5G networks right now. iPhone users in India were disappointed to see that. That said, it is obvious that it won't be the case forever. Of course, the OTA (over-the-air) update that needs to come from Apple to enable iPhones to work on Airtel's 5G network would come sooner or later. But now, according to an ET report, the timeline is out. According to a report from the publication, Apple is likely to give iPhones support for 5G in India by this December when it rolls out a new iOS update.
Airtel and Apple's senior executives are reportedly going to meet this week to talk about the software updates for enabling 5G support on the iPhones. Airtel and Jio have already launched 5G networks in India. Both operators are offering users commercial 5G network experience in multiple major cities of the nation. While Android users can experience Airtel's 5G, iPhone users can't do it because Apple hasn't enabled the iPhones in India to support 5G.
As per the report, Apple is currently testing its iPhones in Mumbai and Delhi on Airtel's 5G network. The software update may be rolled out after the testing is complete, most likely by this December. It is not just Airtel's network that Apple is testing its iPhones on, but Jio's 5G network is also being considered while testing.
Only once Apple is sure that the telecom operators' 5G networks would deliver the best network experience to the iPhone users would it allow for 5G to be switched on. All iPhone devices starting from iPhone 12 series, are capable of supporting 5G networks. Neither Apple nor Airtel has said anything about this officially yet.
