The 2019 iPhone line-up might adopt four MPI antennae and two LCP antennae
“The 2019 iPhone line-up might adopt four MPI antennae and two LCP antennae”
Apple might be moving towards a new antenna technology for its 2019 iPhones. Reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo came out with an investor note recently mentioning the same. According to him, Apple will shun its current Liquid Crystal Polymer antenna technology for a new combination of Modified PI tech. Although this will have little effect on how you interact with the device, for Apple it may bring many consequences. Firstly, Kuo believes that it will increase the company’s bargaining power. Currently the Cupertino giant has little of that against LCP material suppliers, plus it can’t add new ones because of the “complicated production process.”
In order to solve this dilemma, the number of MPI antennae suppliers for 2019 iPhones will be increased to five, according to Kuo, which will give Apple more bargaining power and make suppliers compete with each other over price. Another factor which tips the scale towards MPI is the fact that LCP antennae are more “brittle” compared to other choices and have issues regarding yield rate. Also increasing the yield rate in LCP antennae can lead towards lowering its performance. Contrarily the performance of Modified PI antenna “can be as good as LCP thanks to the improved fluoride formula,” according to Kuo.
Currently, the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max are each quipped with six LCP antenna. Kuo predicts that the 2019 line-up will instead feature four MPI antennae and two LCP antennae. He even mentions that the LCP antennae tech for the 2019 iPhones will be supplied “exclusively by the Japanese supplier thanks to its better vertical integration.”
