The company is believed to be talking to MediaTek about supplying 5G modems, but only as a backup plan in case Intel falls short.

Apple declined to comment to Fast Company.

This could be disappointing if you were hoping Apple would ride the 5G bandwagon as soon as possible. However, it's relatively consistent with the company's strategy. Although Apple has kept up with cellular technology in general, it has rarely been on the forefront of major speed upgrades, passing on 3G for the very first iPhone and waiting until the iPhone 5 to hop on LTE. Typically, it comes down to waiting for the technology to mature. Remember how early LTE phones like the HTC Thunderbolt were frequently very thick and still had terrible battery life? Apple might not want to rush to be an early adopter, especially when 5G networks will only have modest coverage throughout much of 2019.