While for the rest of the devices with Android OS it is expected that the new standard of 5G connectivity arrives from the first quarter of 2019 (in the MWC that has been held in Barcelona annually) for the iPhone this does not seem to arrive until 2020.
This is the news that Fast Company left us, in which it is said that Apple will be one of the last to join the deployment of this 5G. Obviously Apple does not confirm and does not deny this news as it has always been doing, so it will be necessary to be patient and see how much truth there is in it.
For now the main problem would be the modem
And is that Apple has legal problems with Qualcomm and therefore it will mount the Intel modems in its next generations of iPhone, which means that these are not prepared today to use this technology. It also seems that Intel's modem (which is the 8161) would have problems with heat dissipation and battery consumption, which makes the Cupertino company have to focus on it and then add the possibility of 5G connection.
Fast Company warns of this and while this is happening we already have on the table that large companies that compete with Apple, such as Huawei or Samsung, will have compatibility with these 5G networks within a few months. Xiaomi is another one that will have this connectivity and Apple has to find a solution to the problem to not be left behind in this, which means that it could even choose to mount MediaTek modems to solve the problem. We'll see what really happens as the days go by, but this is another problem that is added by the "fight" with Qualcomm.
Taking into account that there are no 5G networks deployed right now and that they will just begin to deploy something during the next year…. As happened with 4G, it will take 2 or 3 years for a phone with that technology to make any sense. Again Apple bases its route on logic and not on hollow headlines.