The most important thing that Apple did NOT announce at its event

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(CNN Business) - The impossible topic to ignore - the "elephant in the room," as they say in the US - at Apple's iPhone launch event on Tuesday begins with a 5 and ends with a G.

This year, telecommunications companies, federal officials and technology executives have talked about 5G, the next generation of wireless networks, with the promise of Internet connections so fast that they will allow a completely new way of life. However, at the event on Tuesday, Apple executives did not pronounce the phrase "5G" once.

Instead, Apple introduced iterative smartphone updates, including better battery life and better cameras. But it takes time to present a phone with 5G capacity.

The decision to delay, presumably until at least 2020, is a risk for Apple. It could give Apple rivals like Samsung, with its two models with 5G capacity, an advantage in the market. At a time when Apple's smartphone sales are going down and its new models look just like the previous models, an iPhone 5G could have been a shake for the business.

READ: Forget the iPhone 11, this is what Apple investors really should care about

Part of the decision to wait may have been out of the company's control. Apple's shift from Qualcomm components to Intel over the past two years, according to reports, paralyzed the development of 5G modems in time for this year's cycle.

But the delay can also represent an estimate that consumers still do not claim for 5G.

"There is definitely a subset of customers who will wait for 5G and want to test their device in the future," said Ben Stanton, senior analyst at Canalys. “But this will not apply to everyone. The mass market currently has no idea why to use 5G, so for many, the lack of 5G on the newer iPhone may not be a problem. ”

5G: the promise against reality

The introduction of 4G phones paved the way for on-demand applications such as Uber, as well as the consumption of mobile video on Netflix and Facebook. These services, in turn, served as outlets to buy newer smartphones.

The change to 5G could be even more surprising. If 3G is a two-lane highway and 4G is six-lane, 5G will convert it into 12 lanes. Data transfers will be almost instantaneous to allow driverless cars to process all the information they need to make life or death decisions in the blink of an eye, or the healthcare industry to help drive the next generation of Telemedicine and robotic surgeries. (A surgeon in China recently performed a liver transplant on an animal from a location 48 km away by controlling a robotic arm that works with 5G).

For now, however, 5G networks continue to emerge in the United States, largely with an inconsistent and unreliable service. 5G phones currently on the market are expensive, such as the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G for $ 1,300 and the LG V50 5G for $ 999, and being connected to a network can easily drain the battery. With the exception of 5G at AT&T Park (home of the Dallas Cowboys), now there aren't many meaningful experiences available to customers.

Smartphone manufacturers and mobile phone operators have not yet revealed how many people are currently using a 5G phone to access 5G networks, but those numbers are likely to make up a small portion of the smartphone market.

'Our goal has never been to be first. It is to be the best '

Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly said over the years that he is not worried that the company will be the first in a new technology. "Our goal has never been to be first," he said in an interview in 2014. "It's to be the best."

The company seems to stay true to its manual.

"I applaud Apple's decision to say that it will not be the first and that it will stand on the shoulders of the giants before that," said Ramón Llamas, director of search for IDC Research. "In time, we will all get there, but there is still much to do."

Undoubtedly, Apple will need to start work when the time comes. It could well be the last of the leading manufacturers to launch a flagship phone with 5G capability. But there are advantages in waiting, including more reliable networks and customer experiences.

By then, 5G modems can also reach a massive scale, allowing Apple to access cheaper modems so it can sell a 5G iPhone for less than it would now, according to David McQueen, director of research at ABI Research.

Another advantage: you have an additional year to work on a closed 5G device while other players like Samsung solve the initial problems exposed to everyone's attention.

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