No 4G iPhone Until 2012: Report

[Paul Daniel Ash]

A report on TechCrunch pours some cold water on the idea that the still-rumored Verizon iPhone will support LTE, Verizon's faster 4G standard. Steve Cheney, who was one of the first out of the gate with reports from China that Apple was building a Verizon iPhone, says that the device to be released in January will be compatible only with the existing CDMA 3G standard. According to his report, a dual-mode phone will be out by mid-2011, with LTE support on hold until 2012.

Following the Wall Street Journal's report on a Verizon iPhone that would support an "alternative wireless technology," some observers (like the Journal's Martin Peers and, well, me) speculated that the technology would be LTE, the fourth-generation (4G) wireless standard coming to Verizon and AT&T over the next couple of years. However, Cheney is reporting - without naming any sources - that neither the Verizon iPhone nor the fifth-generation iPhone due in June 2011 will support LTE. Instead, the Verizon phone would have a CDMA chip made by Qualcomm, and the 5G would come with a hybrid chip that could work on either Verizon's CDMA network or the GSM system used by AT&T. Cheney refers back to Apple's decision to support only the pre-3G EDGE standard with the original iPhone, at a time when 3G networks were much more widespread and mature than LTE will be in 2011. Apple may not want to be the LTE "guinea pig," Cheney says, asserting that "the reality is that 4G deployments will take much longer than the carriers are letting on." LTE support would therefore have to wait until the sixth-generation iPhone is released in 2012.

There are, however, drawbacks to going with CDMA, in addition to it being a dead-end standard. Battery life tends to be shorter with power-hungry CDMA radios, and what's perhaps most significant, simultaneous voice and data transmission is not possible. In a separate story in the Wall Street Journal, company executive Brian Higgins claimed that the carrier was working on a solution to that problem but gave no schedule for the fix, saying that "for a vast majority of customers, I don't think it's terribly important." The article also quotes Brad Shewmake, spokesman for the CDMA Development Group, as saying that a solution - presumably Voice over Rev. A (VoRA) - will become commercially available in the first half of next year.

Source: MacRumors

[tjb5099]

I wish they would get it so they can quite down the ppl that think the andriods sell more. If the iPhone got on Verizon the sales would greatly increase, the only reason ppl buy the droids is because they can't have the iPhone.

~Tim

[Oneh1tko]

I guess now we know why the world is going to end in 2012.

[moon#pie]

I don't think that we will care about 4G while the earth is exploding.....

[tjb5099]

My wedding date is 2012 it coincides with the end of the world. Lovely

~Tim

[whereswaldo]

Who needs 4G when you have HSDPA+

[Snozberries]

My wedding date is 2012 it coincides with the end of the world. Lovely

~Tim

Tim, could this be coincidence??

[Browning151]

I would never take my iPhone to Verizon if I couldn't use data/voice at the same time. I use that wayyyyy too much.

[saunupe1911]

I would never take my iPhone to Verizon if I couldn't use data/voice at the same time. I use that wayyyyy too much.

Me too!!!

It's an awesome feature that's greatly overlooked

[Poseidon79]

Who needs 4G when you have HSDPA+

My thoughts exactly. 7.2Mbps is screaming fast for a mobile device and WAY more bandwidth than needed even to stream HD video. My Hulu+ looks amazing even on the current 3G speeds. I know people always think faster is better but there comes a point of diminishing return.. ie... killing a spider with a sledge hammer. It's cool to say you did it.. but the same result as if you used a fly swatter.

I'll pose the question: What would you use LTE speeds for that you couldn't do with 7.2Mbs HSPA+

[politicalslug]

I've been saying 2012 for years. LTE will be limited in 2011 on AT&T, so it's not worth the hardware and battery cost. More important than that is how well the 2G iPhone performed in a sea of 3G devices. I'm happy to wait a year and receive better hardware with longer battery life, and for the network to be better able to handle the load and with new features, like HD streaming video over 4G and high res video chatting over 4G.

[JacquesChirac]

That's pretty true. I think for that reason, people will be hesitant to pay the extra cost for faster internet because you won't be getting more bang for your buck, especially when it first comes out.

Even 3G video calls are pretty seamless. Honestly, I can't tell their difference between Wifi.

[jose060789]

I really don't care about LTE 4G, 3G is enough for me. However, 4G does indeed waste battery life and you have to pay around $10 more wether you use 4G or not. In my opinion, it's just a waste of battery life and money when I can just use my Internet (wifi) at home.


Sent from my iPhone 4 using ModMyi

[vantheman169]

once again, VERIZON blows CDMA is a crap *** network that is way over rated! GSM is the way to go i am happy with 3G speeds!

[Darrius777]

I hope Verizon does get the iPhone. That would free up some bandwith on AT&T.

[mikerlx]

love the rumors good journalism

[staterunner180]

My thoughts exactly. 7.2Mbps is screaming fast for a mobile device and WAY more bandwidth than needed even to stream HD video. My Hulu+ looks amazing even on the current 3G speeds. I know people always think faster is better but there comes a point of diminishing return.. ie... killing a spider with a sledge hammer. It's cool to say you did it.. but the same result as if you used a fly swatter.

I'll pose the question: What would you use LTE speeds for that you couldn't do with 7.2Mbs HSPA+

I agree with you 100%. 7.2Mbs is insanely fast, and more then enough for any task that someone could ever put to a mobile device. But the thing is, 7.2 is the theoretical speed. As in, almost no where are you actually going to get anywhere close to that. And I think that's what the phone companies are trying to do; make a newer, more widespread standard that will be plenty fast in the densely populated areas, but not completely sluggish (or nonexistent) in places where there aren't so many people.

[decke]

Sixth gen iPhone? Really? I can't wait until the 7th gen.

[moeses]

That's freaking hilarious!!!!!!

[hollow0]

I don't think that we will care about 4G while the earth is exploding.....

LMAO ahh boy that's funny