AT&T Working With Apple to Put '4G' in the iPhone 4S Status Bar

[Anthony Bouchard]

4G isn't a service. It's just a medium for measurement of wireless standards...right?

AT&T thinks just that. Due to the speeds that HSPA+ will bring to the iPhone 4S, 14.4Mb/s, it is fair to say that the iPhone 4S is capable of 4G speeds. The debate is that the speeds are capable of 4G, while the opposing side feels that it's still operating on a, "3G Radio" and marketing the iPhone 4S as a 4G phone is simply flat out wrong.

HSPA+ being marketed as 4G, isn't exactly a new concept. AT&T has been considering it for a very long time; in fact AT&T has been marketing LTE and HSPA+ as 4G for quite a while now. Apple's iPhone 4S looks to be joining in on that consideration.


As the image above shows, Apple's very own Phil Schiller was at the keynote explaining the speed benefits of the iPhone 4S's new hardware improvements. The downlink speeds are very much capable of reaching that of many 4G-marketed phones.

Now, if you follow the phone industry, these numbers might sound familiar – 5.8 up, 14.4 down. Where have I heard that before? Well, this is what the majority of our competitors claim when they talk about 4G performance. The Motorola Atrix 4G, the LG Thrill 4G, the HTC Inspire 4G – they even put it in their names. We're not going to get into a debate in the industry of what's 4G and what isn't. We leave that to others to talk about. What's most important, when it comes to real-world performance – the iPhone 4S is just as fast as all these phones. In fact, we think with some of our software enhancements, it's even faster in real-world use.

So where do we draw the line? Well, shown clearly by the image above, Apple went above and beyond to make sure that the public understood that the iPhone 4S was not being marketed as a 4G phone, but that it still used a 3G radio with improved speeds. It looks like this, "consideration" going on between Apple and AT&T might be more of an 'AT&T is pushing Apple to lie to the public to increase sales.'


If this suggestion from AT&T becomes a reality, you might find the heading image of this article - a common aspect of your very own iPhone 4S. If this happens, it will likely be a software update for the iPhone 4S running on AT&T's network. All of the iPhone 4's and CDMA-activated iPhone 4S's will still show the usual 3G indicator because they still work at 3G speeds.

GSM carriers have more to worry about when it comes to confusing their customers than CDMA networks do. GSM networks, such as AT&T like to market both HSPA+ and LTE as 4G, where Verizon utilizes only LTE and Sprint utilizes WiMAX. Sprint may be ditching WiMAX to support LTE in the upcoming months. That being said, AT&T has a lot of explaining to do for its future iPhone 4S consumers.

Do you like, or dislike the fact that AT&T wants to make the iPhone 4S say that it's receiving a 4G signal? Share below!

Sources: MacRumors

[spazturtle]

Saying any phone is 4G is plain wrong. LTE is not 4G it is 3.75G, LTE-A is a 4G candidate but no phone has that.

[feidhlim1986]

Title should read "AT&T Working With Apple to try lie to customers and cover up their own ongoing falsities."

Hilarious that AT&T has been marketing HSPA+ as 4G and then one of their biggest phone manufacturers pretty much comes out and says nah...it's still only 3G.

[brian30880]

I think 3g or 4g is basically a way of saying how fast a phone is in general. If it gets "4g" speeds the what the hell, let it say 4g? Not a big deal..

[Aenima133]

Saying any phone is 4G is plain wrong. LTE is not 4G it is 3.75G, LTE-A is a 4G candidate but no phone has that.

I agree whole heartedly. And this is probably why apple WILL NOT go through with it. Plus from what i've read and been told by IT friends of mine, 4G speeds range 20Mbs+ to almost 50Mbs. 14Mbs is hardly that. Therefore, should not be marketed as such.

[Chris3k2]

Saying any phone is 4G is plain wrong. LTE is not 4G it is 3.75G, LTE-A is a 4G candidate but no phone has that.

That deserves a +1 or "retweet" whatever you want to call it lol. I couldn't have said it better myself. So many people don't understand what actual 4G speeds are supposed to be.

feidhlim1986

Title should read "AT&T Working With Apple to try lie to customers and cover up their own ongoing falsities."

Hilarious that AT&T has been marketing HSPA+ as 4G and then one of their biggest phone manufacturers pretty much comes out and says nah...it's still only 3G.

Wouldn't it be equally wrong for sprint and verizon too? Since technically neither one provides "true 4g" service?

But on another note. I wouldn't mind it saying 4G.

[Aenima133]

Wouldn't it be equally wrong for sprint and verizon too? Since technically neither one provides "true 4g" service?

But on another note. I wouldn't mind it saying 4G.

At least LTE doesn't run off of 3g Radios. It may not be "true 4g" but it's not blatantly lying if it's a different radio signal unlike AT&T's, which is the same stuff, just faster.

[Anthony Bouchard]

I agree whole heartedly. And this is probably why apple WILL NOT go through with it. Plus from what i've read and been told by IT friends of mine, 4G speeds range 20Mbs+ to almost 50Mbs. 14Mbs is hardly that. Therefore, should not be marketed as such.

There are no phones today that get anywhere near 20Mb/s to 50Mb/s. It has to do with the bandwidth and traffic of the network. That being said, most 4G phones will only see a speed of 3Mb/s-10Mb/s. If the iPhone 4S can achieve those speeds, I personally don't care. Although it is still technically a 3G phone and it is lying to market it as a 4G phone.

[Aenima133]

There are no phones today that get anywhere near 20Mb/s to 50Mb/s. It has to do with the bandwidth and traffic of the network. That being said, most 4G phones will only see a speed of 3Mb/s-10Mb/s. If the iPhone 4S can achieve those speeds, I personally don't care. Although it is still technically a 3G phone and it is lying to market it as a 4G phone.

Do you know why there are no phones that can get that speed? Because True 4g doesn't exist in a phone yet. That's why I said what I said.

[Anthony Bouchard]

Do you know why there are no phones that can get that speed? Because True 4g doesn't exist in a phone yet. That's why I said what I said.

Then perhaps AT&T should add the 4G marker on the iPhone 4S because Android phones working off of the alpha stages of 4G only achieve the same speeds.

[mmaboi21]

Sweet i love 4G LTE on my iphone 4s...

[Aenima133]

Then perhaps AT&T should add the 4G marker on the iPhone 4S because Android phones working off of the alpha stages of 4G only achieve the same speeds.

I thoroughly believe that since no phone are actually 4G then none of them should be marketed as such. Regardless of speeds. Imho, the only current, somewhat justifiable moniker of 4G is LTE, purely due to the fact is runs on different radios all together than 3G, while HSPA+ still runs on the same 3G radios, and there is in no way, shape, or form 4G. Take in to consideration, I don't know a whole lot about this, but this is personal take on the whole thing.

[feidhlim1986]

Whoever wants the feel like they have a 4G iPhone, I'm sure there's a tweak in Cydia to make it say 4G instead of 3G. So just use that if you wan't to impress your friends.

[Anthony Bouchard]

Whoever wants the feel like they have a 4G iPhone, I'm sure there's a tweak in Cydia to make it say 4G instead of 3G. So just use that if you wan't to impress your friends.

There actually is one, but it doesn't carry support for the resolution of the retina display. I think it looks corny and fake.

[mmaboi21]

Mr. Bouchard i am now following you on twitter, that being said you should follow your boi as well.

[akafred]

aren't all the other manufactures doing just this? labelling phones as 4g based on speeds not hardware?

[sziklassy]

4G was redefined. Whether people want to accept that or not is their own prerogative. What I want to know is why people are so worried about it. Peak data speeds are clearly defined on ATT. Who cares what we actually call it?

[iLoveWindows&iPhone]

If I am in a area where I will get super fast speed, I want it to say "4G", so I am aware I am in a "4g" zone. If I'm not getting those speeds, I want it to say 3G...it's as simple as that.

[Hillefied]

Let's look at the term 4G from a different perspective. 4G is labeled as the technology that enables faster broadband data than it's predecessors; 3G, Edge, etc. (I believe names differ by carrier, I'm using AT&T's terminology). As an example: Edge is 0.5Mb/s - 3G is 1.5 - 5.5Mb/s - 4G is 7.5 - 14.5Mb/s. while these figures aren't exact, the idea is that while the iPhone 4S is using the new two 3G radios tweak, it has entered the category of 4G technology. Trying to think of 4G as the same exact technology across all carriers may not be the right thinking. I would submit my support for a 4G label in my status bar, but only if I have sufficient evidence that I am equal or beyond uniformly labeled 4G technology. If I feel my speeds to be the same as what I have now on normal 3G, then I couldn't support it.

[Azulfuego]

4G = 4 generation? So if dual band is AT&T's 4th gen what is wrong with calling it 4g? If the speeds were not comparable I would def be saying "FOUL" but the speed is there and it is in a way a 4th generation. At the end of the day the speed is there what does it matter? Waste of time and print.

1G
The first wireless cellular systems (1G) started appearing in the 1980s. 1G networks are based on the AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service) standard. Unlike their predecessor wireless networks, 1G networks are based on the idea of cells. 1G networks provide analog voice service but no data service. 1G was analog, not digital. The spectral efficiency of 1G networks was very low and the effective "energy/bit" was high. Handsets had short talk/standby times.

2G
2G wireless networks are digital networks (for spectral efficiency and not for digital services). There are several 2G standards in use:

TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access). Used primarily in the USA.
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). Widely used in Europe and countries other than USA, now appearing in the USA.
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). Used in USA and its use is spreading in the rest of the world.
PDC (Personal Digital Cellular). Used only in Japan where iMode uses packet switched PDC.

Some characteristics of 2G networks are:

Maximum data rates of 9.6 Kbits/second to 14.4 Kbits/second if you are in just the right place.
Digital voice (results in a lower quality voice but uses less precious spectrum).
Enhanced telephony features such as caller-id.
Services such as text based messaging (big winner), downloads of still images and audio clips, etc.

2.5G (Between 2G and 3G)
2.5G networks, which are still not available everywhere, are essentially General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) packet overlays on 2G networks. Besides enhancing GSM and TDMA networks by making them packet-based networks, GPRS also increases their data rates. GPRS is primarily a software upgrade of GSM. Some characteristics of 2.5G networks are:

Data rates of 64 - 144kb/second.
Packet based.
Always-on connectivity.
Instant messaging with small attachments.

A new wireless standard, Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), has been developed to increase the bandwidth of GPRS. EDGE triples the bandwidth capacity of GPRS to 384 Kbits/second thus allowing GSM and TDMA operators to offer high-speed services. EDGE based networks fall in between 2.5G and 3G networks.

3G is the third (next) generation of wireless network technology that provides high speed bandwidth (high data transfer rates) to handheld devices. Specifically, 3G wireless networks support the following maximum data transfer rates:

2.05 Mbits/second to stationary devices.
384 Kbits/second for slowly moving devices, such as a handset carried by a walking user.
128 Kbits/second for fast moving devices, such as handsets in moving vehicles.

With such high bandwidth rates, 3G networks will be able to offer a variety of new services that combine high voice quality telephony, high-speed mobile IP services, information technology, rich media, and offer diverse content. What Came Before 3G? 3G wireless networks represent an evolution of wireless network technology, and were preceded by 1G, 2G, and 2.5G wireless networks.