Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) finds itself at a crossroads. Hardware sales have slowed down, and new products have failed to match the sales numbers of the iPhone. However, the adoption of 5G technology will likely drive customers to buy new iPhones and other products. Given the coming arrival of 5G, investors should look well beyond the near arrival of the $1-trillion market cap.

AAPL continues flirting with the psychologically important $1-trillion market cap. At about $920 billion now, the company can reach that level with one final push.

Most analysts focus on what will get AAPL stock to that level. However, being only $80 billion away, the company could reach that point simply on inertia. I think the much bigger question is what will push the company well beyond $1 trillion?

Apple Still Defined Mostly by the iPhone

Regarding hardware and the company in general, AAPL stock seems to live and die on iPhone sales. Though sales of the latest iPhone X disappointed, the profits it produced did not.

However, as Vince Martin correctly points out, the company suffers from saturation. Everyone who wants an iPhone already has one. Other products categories such as the Apple Watch and the HomePod produce double-digit gains in sales. Still, sales numbers for each make up a small fraction of sales that the iPhone generates.

Apple’s software, specifically, Apple Music, has drawn a high level of interest. Our own Luke Lango thinks Apple Music and software in general will take AAPL stock to $1 trillion. His theory may prove correct.

Apple Music came online nine years after the current music king Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT). Apple has begun closing the gap despite not offering a free tier. Having 40 million songs available and integration to the iTunes library has attracted millions of customers.

However, this integration strategy is the same one used by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to dominate PCs in the 1990s. Since the passing of Steve Jobs, the company has ceased to function as a revolutionary innovator.

Its products today are “me too” products that do not necessarily stand out above competitors such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (OTCMKTS:SSNLF), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL, NASDAQ:GOOG), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) or Microsoft.

Look to 5G to Drive Innovation

As I pointed out recently, 5G will likely define its next chapter and could bring a greater degree of innovation to Apple. One reason the iPhone X did not sell well in my view is that few want to pay a high price for a current iPhone when 5G will render it obsolete.

However, the improved functionality of 5G will likely make a pricier iPhone worth the cost. That alone will allow AAPL stock to significantly surpass the $1-trillion milestone.

However, what will define the company’s future is what Apple can do with 5G. At 10 gigabits per second, 5G will offer speeds at least 10 times faster than the current 4G technology.

That could also be a more conservative estimate. Researchers have reached speeds of 1 terabit per second! Either way, 5G will come online later this year in some markets and should enjoy widespread availability by 2020.

That will almost certainly drive a massive upgrade in iPhones. It will also bring new products to the market that are not possible with today’s technology. With about $267 billion cash on hand, the company can buy the innovation it cannot create itself. Either way, Apple will derive tremendous benefit from this technology.

Bottom Line on AAPL Stock

Given the advent of 5G, investors should focus not on the $1-trillion market cap, but on what will take the company well past that point. The company can reach $1 trillion based on many factors, including inertia alone. Saturation in Apple hardware, and its new products paling in comparison to the iPhone have left the company stagnant.

However, the arrival of 5G will render much of its current hardware obsolete. The need for 5G will not only drive new iPhone sales, it could also spark the invention of new product lines not yet imagined. Once 5G gains widespread acceptance, investors could suddenly focus on what will take AAPL stock to $2 trillion, or perhaps beyond.

As of this writing, Will Healy did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. You can follow Will on Twitter at @HealyWriting.