Software updates for 5G support in India to be released by Samsung, Google and Apple

Representatives from Apple, other smartphone makers, chipset manufacturers, and industry associations will meet with representatives from the Department of Telecom and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology to discuss the importance of software updates for 5G services.

By the middle of November, Indian users of Samsung's 5G handsets will be able to access 5G services thanks to the over-the-air (OTA) updates , according to the Korean mobile manufacturer.

"Samsung offers the most variety of 5G devices in India. In order to provide Indian consumers with a smooth 5G experience, we are committed to sending out OTA upgrades all across all of our 5G devices by mid-November 2022," a representative for Samsung India stated on Wednesday.

Samsung's remark comes shortly after Apple said that it would release software updates for iPhones in India in December to support 5G services. In addition, Google has vowed to release a software update for its products as soon as possible.

As soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance are finished,"We are working with our carrier partners in India to offer the best 5G experience to iPhone users. In December, iPhone customers will start receiving software updates that allow 5G, according to a statement from Apple.

Apple is currently testing the 5G-capable iPhones, which include the iPhone 12, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 series as well as the iPhone SE(3rd Generation), on the carriers that have launched 5G services in India. The company plans to release the update in December once it is confident that the end user will have a positive experience using 5G networks.

The two telecom operators to have announced their fifth-generation networks in a few key cities including Delhi Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi among others are Airtel and Reliance Jio. Apple is testing 5G support on these networks.

However, Vodafone Idea hasn't yet disclosed a 5G launch schedule, so when it does, Apple will need to conduct more testing with the 5G network of the telco. Although Vi had previously stated that it would 'soon' launch its 5G services in the country.

Representatives from Apple, other smartphone makers, chipset manufacturers, and industry associations will meet with representatives from the Department of Telecom and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology to discuss the importance of software updates for 5G services.

The government requested intervention from smartphone manufacturers and telecom operators to roll out support for 5G services in a memo that invited 30 people to a meeting. This was done to ensure that 5G networks were quickly adopted in India.

This week will also see a high-level meeting between executives from Apple and Bharti Airtel to go over the reasons for the delay and a schedule for when the updates will be released.

While the majority of Chinese smartphone manufacturers have activated 5G support days after Airtel announced that its 5G services have launched in eight Indian cities, only nine Samsung devices currently are 5G-enabled, and a number of OnePlus devices have not yet received an update. OnePlus hasn't given a deadline yet.

Both Chinese and international smartphone models would need a separate software upgrade for Reliance Jio's standalone 5G network, which many handsets have yet not received.