iPhone 12 Could Feature ‘Smart Data Mode’ to Automatically Switch Between 4G and 5G Networks

BY Smidh

Published 9 Oct 2020

Among the barrage of iPhone 12 leak today, one interesting tidbit is regarding 5G connectivity on the new iPhones. While Apple is bringing 5G connectivity to its entire iPhone 12 lineup, only the variants sold in the United States will have mmWave support. The variants sold in other countries will only support sub-6GHz 5G.

What’s more interesting is the presence of a “Smart Data Mode” on the new iPhones. As per Kang, this new mode will automatically switch between 4G and 5G connectivity on the iPhone 12 depending on the application that is being used. When an application that requires a lot of bandwidth is being used, the device will switch to 5G while in other scenarios, the device will use 4G. For example, the device will automatically switch to 5G when downloading a large file or when streaming content in 4K resolution.

If true, this would be a smart implementation from Apple and help extend the battery life of the iPhone 12 lineup. There are very few applications right now that can take advantage of the bandwidth offered by 5G networks and given that 5G networks take a heavy toll on battery life, this feature would make a lot of sense.

Other leaks have so far claimed that Apple will launch the mmWave variant of the iPhone 12 Pro in only selected markets where mmWave 5G networks are actually present. The cheaper iPhone 12 lineup will also feature 5G but only sub-6Ghz connectivity.

The leak from earlier today claims the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro will feature 15W wireless charging, Super Retina XDR display, and more. The cheaper iPhone 12 lineup will launch first in October followed by the iPhone 12 Pro in NOvember.