Barclays: the next iPhone XR may bring faster data speeds via 4×4 MIMO antennas

Apple is expected to release three new iPhone models in 2019, including a successor to the colorful iPhone XR which should feature a 4×4 MIMO antenna design.

Barclays wrote today in a research note, seen by MacRumors, that the improved antennas will be similar to the current iPhone XS series and, of course, result in faster data speeds.

For those asking, MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) technology boosts data speeds by utilizing multiple transmission and receiving antennas in order to exploit multipath propagation. As an example, a 4×4 MIMO configuration takes advantage of four antennas.

The current iPhone XR uses a 2×2 MIMO antenna design so doubling the number of antennas would improved data speeds significantly. More importantly, doing so would bring Apple’s baseline phone on par with the current iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max devices in terms of cellular performance, both of which, again, use Gigabit-class LTE 4×4 MIMO antennas.

Barclays previously predicted that 2019 iPhones could adopt the newest generation of Wi-Fi, called Wi-Fi 6 and also known as 802.11ax. In addition to faster data speeds, Wi-Fi 6 brings reduced latency, higher security, greater range and faster connection to a network.

2019 iPhones aren’t expected to include support for 5G cellular connectivity, however.

The Wall Street Journal said that the next iPhone XR would continue to use LCD technology but Apple is expected to improve the rear camera system by giving it two lenses for improved depth detection and portraiture photography similar to the iPhone X/XS/XS Max lineup.

Photo top of post via Marquess Brownlee