According to reports, Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics will upgrade software for their 5G-enabled phones in India by December, as Indian authorities press mobile phone manufacturers to adopt the high-speed network.

According to Apple it would push software upgrades to recent models, including the iPhone 14, 13, 12 and iPhone SE, which, industry sources say, do not yet support the network.

Apple says, “We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed.”

5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services on Oct. 1 amid much fanfare, with leading telecom operator Reliance Jio saying it would make the service available in four cities, while rival Bharti Airtel targeted eight cities.

According to Samsung, the company would roll out updates across all its 5G devices by mid-November.
The meeting held by Ministry of electronics and IT officials dedicated to 5G adoption, which executives from Apple, Samsung, Vivo and Xiaomi, and telecom operators Reliance, Airtel and Vodafone Idea attended.

The agenda includes prioritizing the release of software upgrades for supporting the high-speed network, the notice for the closed-door meeting stated.

Reports suggest that, while telecom players and smartphone makers have been holding discussions with each other, ironing out compatibility issues between the specific 5G technology of telecom companies in India and phone software is taking time.

Google says, “Pixel 7, 7 Pro and Pixel 6a are 5G capable devices. We are actively working with the Indian carriers to enable functionality at the earliest.”