With “peek performance” being the catchy tagline of Apple’s first big product launch event of 2022, we’re obviously not shocked to see the third-gen iPhone SE “borrow” its A15 processor from the ultra-high-end iPhone 13 family, and even more impressively, the fifth-gen iPad Air share a state-of-the-art M1 silicon with the iPad Pro (2021) duo.
That’s right, both the iPhone SE (2022) and iPad Air 5 are sub-6 GHz 5G-compatible devices only, lacking mmWave support. If you don’t really know what any of that means, the simple way to put it is that these bad boys will not be able to deliver the highest 5G speeds currently available in the US.
How big of a difference will this make?
In short, not very big. That’s because mmWave 5G is an absolutely breathtaking technology… on paper, and a largely useless feature in reality. Okay, that might be a little harsh, so we’ll try to rephrase it in a way that won’t make Verizon’s head honchos too upset.
![Those average 5G download speeds were recorded largely without mmWave help. - Apple's hot new iPhone SE and iPad Air are making an important 5G compromise](https://m-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/386686-940/5G-download-speed-report-January-2022.jpg)
Those average 5G download speeds were recorded largely without mmWave help.
All in the name of affordability
While you could speculate this decision had something to do with the iPhone SE 3 and iPad Air 5 designs and Apple’s focus on making the two devices as sleek and as lightweight as possible by eliminating all “unnecessary” components, it’s way more logical to assume that the missing antennas helped the company keep the price points (relatively) low.
![The new iPad Air would have probably been considerably pricier with mmWave 5G. - Apple's hot new iPhone SE and iPad Air are making an important 5G compromise](https://m-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/386694-940/Apple-iPad-Air-2022.jpg)
The new iPad Air would have probably been considerably pricier with mmWave 5G.