There’s talk going round about the iPhone 5S potentially sporting LTE Advanced (LTE-A), rather than the ‘mere’ 4G LTE that we’ve all just come to know and love.
So what’s the difference? Essentially 4G LTE-A is much, much faster at max speeds than the 4G LTE networks currently in place. Some estimates put it at around 4-5x faster or more. A speed bump like this would give Apple a technologically advantage (for a short time) but then, Apple has never been about being on the bleeding edge of new tech advancements.
Why it’s unlikely, but possible
Every year as we approach a new iPhone release dozens of iPhone rumors start floating around. Most disappear as fast as they crop up, but this LTE-A rumor is proving persistent. What we can’t figure out is why. It’s true that the iPhone 5S could support LTE-A, but LTE-A networks are yet to begin rolling out in major iPhone markets, including the USA and Europe.
An LTE-A iPhone would be compatible with the SK Telecom network in South Korea, though – a reknowned Samsung stronghold. Perhaps including this new networking tech is Apple’s way to hit at Samsung in its homeland.
The great thing about both FD and TD LTE (the two LTE standards that have arisen) is that they are compatible with LTE-A networks. That doesn’t mean that you can plug a plain old LTE device in to an LTE-A network and quadruple your speed, but you will get standard LTE connectivity, which is still pretty damn fast.
The same works in reverse; LTE-A devices can operate over an LTE network. Cross-compatibility between 4G technologies is a fantastic bonus that should prove incredibly useful in the future for both network providers and customers alike.
So there’s nothing stopping Apple from throwing LTE-A support in to the iPhone 5S for the very select few markets in the world right now that do support it. But from Apple’s viewpoint there’s no real financial reason to go ahead with it either.
All about timing
At this point you might think “hang on, if it’ll work in a few regions then at the very least Apple will have an advantage there”. You would be correct, but it would be completely out of character for Apple.
With both 3G and 4G LTE Apple was a good year behind the general market trends, opting instead to wait for a greater public demand for the technology before loudly proclaiming the ‘new wave’ in wireless broadband connectivity. Throwing in support for LTE-A before the public even knows about it would be playing a card that Apple has never been known for playing.
If the rumor is true, then by the time LTE-A networks have spread to a large percentage of the iPhone customer base Apple will have turned something that the public ‘needs’ in to something that the public already has, completely skipping the part where everyone is climbing over each other to get at it. This is the part where Apple makes money and it’ll be a cold, dead day in Ron Jeremy’s sauna before the world’s biggest hype machine cashes in early.
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