It is only a matter of time before 5G networks become the standard in the mobile industry, which means that phone manufacturers need to quickly hop on board the 5G bandwagon and start producing 5G capable handsets. Apple will obviously be one of those companies, but if you thought that the company’s existing iPhones were expensive, its 5G models could cost more.
According to a report from IAM (via Cult of Mac), it has revealed how much companies are planning to charge to license its 5G patents and technology. Nokia has confirmed and disclosed that they will be charging a flat fee of $3.48 per device, while Ericsson will be asking for $2.50 to $5, depending on how much the device sells for.
Qualcomm on the other hand appears to be asking for the most, at 3.25% of the device’s cost, with a cap of $400, which means that pretty much all iPhones will cost $13 each for licensing Qualcomm’s 5G patents. Huawei is also another holder of 5G patents but they have yet to disclose how much they plan to charge, but all in all based on what these companies are asking for, the cost to license 5G tech alone is around $21.48 per iPhone.
Now $21.48 doesn’t sound like music, but when you add it to the overall cost of building the iPhone, it could result in a handset that is more expensive than what Apple is charging now, since we doubt that Apple will be absorbing the costs. That being said this is just speculation for now, and maybe Apple might work out a better deal with the companies mentioned, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Filed in . Read more about 5G, Huawei, iPhone, Nokia, Qualcomm and Social Hit.