A few days ago, T-Mobile and Qualcomm got together to demonstrate the power of Gigabit LTE. Well, Qualcomm was flaunting its X16 series modem, while T-Mobile got to the airwaves to announce that its high-speed LTE Advanced network is available in more than 920 markets, out of which 430 can flaunt up to Gigabit LTE speeds.
According to Qualcomm, tapping into Gigabit LTE availability gets you some amazing download speeds by merging carrier aggregation with 4X4 MIMO and other speed-boosting tech, but how important is that in practice? Well, someone took the Note 8, which sports a Gigabit LTE modem, and the iPhone X that maxes out at 600Mbps, and, even though T-Mobile couldn't really serve the theoretical 1Gbps speeds in the test places, the Note 8 was still twice faster in download speeds achieved in the same spot.
This is due to the higher bandwidth that comes with Qualcomm's Gigabit LTE modem by combining various carrier access technologies, but Apple has an axe to grind with Qualcomm, and will probably try to secure the next generation of wireless modems for its future iPhones from Intel instead. In fact, the word on the street is that Apple is already working towards 5G modem design together with Intel, whose introduction will probably precede the actual mass 5G rollout, so we might see the next-gen iPhones to come predominantly with Intel inside, instead of Qualcomm.
Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.
Recommended Stories
Loading Comments...
COMMENT
All comments need to comply with our
Community Guidelines
Phonearena comments rules
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: