Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi confirm software updates to unlock 5G on Indian devices

Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi have announced that they are working with telcos to roll out 5G software updates that will unlock access to 5G services on their devices in India. Apple said that 5G will be enabled on iPhones in December, while Samsung said that the update will be rolled out across 5G devices by mid-November. Xiaomi on its part said it has already started rolling out the update on select devices for "seamless standalone (SA) support." “Most devices will start receiving OTA updates by Diwali,” said Muralikrishnan B, president of Xiaomi India.

“We will continue to provide relevant support to the government and telecom operators to ensure 5G readiness for users across the length and breadth of India,” he added.

The announcements were made after the Department of Telecom (DoT) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) reportedly called a meeting with telcos, OEMs, and chip companies to speed up the process so Indian users can leverage the benefits of 5G, which includes faster downloads and lower latency.

5G services were started in India this month. Bharti Airtel has launched its 5G services in eight Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur, and Varanasi. Meanwhile, Reliance Jio is offering 5G services in four Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Varanasi.

Despite the roll out of 5G services, most users still can’t access it as the 5G devices in the market need a software update that will remove the lock on the 5G frequency bands on which 5G services are being offered in India.

Telcos in India will offer 5G services in multiple bands. For instance, Airtel has acquired 5G licenses for 900 MHz (n8), 1800 MHz (n3), 2100MHz (n1), 3300-3800 MHz (n78), and 26 GHz (n258) bands. Jio has bagged licenses for n28 (700 MHz), n78, and n258 bands, while Vodafone-Idea has n78 and n258 bands. Most 5G smartphones available in India including the iPhones support these bands.

The n78 is the most commonly tested and deployed 5G frequency band across the world.

According to International Data Corporation, over 51 million 5G smartphones have been shipped in India since 2020. 5G smartphones will account for 50% of the overall shipments by 2023. “We have over 20 5G enabled devices across price points and have shipped over 7 million 5G smartphones in India from May 2020 to June 2022,” said Muralikrishnan B.