iPhone Won’t Have 4G Until At Least 2012

Speculation has been that Apple could possibly introduce an LTE/4G iPhone in the coming year. Some even thought that Apple pushed back the iPhone 5′s announcement to wait for LTE saturation in the U.S.

Will we see an iPhone 4G this September?*According to both Apple and the LTE industry, it doesn’t look hopeful…


The chips needed to equip the iPhone with 4G/LTE capability don’t exist yet. And they won’t exist until at least early 2012.

Forbes reports,

“Rumor has it the next-generation iPhone won’t arrive until September. If so, it won’t offer the crazy fast data speeds promised by next-generation 4G wireless networks.

That’s because access to the turbo-charged networks that make*Verizon’s Thunderbolt handset crazy fast require a combination of chips Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said Wednesday Apple won’t use.”

Apple has previously shown interest in LTE, but Apple’s own Tim Cook made no bones about Apple’s current stance on LTE in yesterday’s earnings call.

Apple’s COO, Tim Cook,

“The first generation of LTE chip-sets force a lot of design compromises with the handset, and some of those we are just not willing to make.”

The chipset industry and U.S. network*infrastructure*just can’t handle iPhone-level saturation when it comes to LTE. The only 4G device in the U.S. market is the Verizon Thunderbolt, and it relies on two chips to deliver lighting fast speeds and*communication*between Verizon’s 4G and 3G signals.

Apple doesn’t like the design*compromises*that would need to be made to*accommodate*two chips for 4G in the next iPhone. And the type of chips that would appease Apple won’t be available to the market until at least next year.

“Those chips won’t appear in handsets until next year, says Will Strauss, president of wireless chip tracker Forward Concepts. “They’re right that there’s nothing out there that fits the bill, and likely nothing will until the fourth quarter of this year,” Strauss says when asked about Cook’s remarks.”

Don’t hold your breath for an iPhone 4G this fall. The sixth generation iPhone will probably be LTE-capable, but September’s device will most likely run on good old 3G.

What do you think? Is Apple just blowing smoke? Will we be surprised with an iPhone 4G this year?

no, but 3G is plenty fast for me when the ui is as good as it gets, and most of the time im on wifi, I'd rather not use a network that murks battery life

floppppinggggggg [pic]

and people will still be lining up for the iPhone 5 on launch day smh

[pic] @ people like you who are spec chasers, when a phone functions the way you want it to, it doesn't matter

this is the S version like the 3GS, people bought it cuz all apple products sell well, but once the 6 is out, it will revolutionize the game again

[pic]

I just...nah, !! it....

I'm a spec chaser because I'm stating the obvious? Ain't no one knocking your admiration for Apple, man. Yall will say anything to make yourselves feel better.

Lol..it is what it is.

iphone>>>>>>>>>

i could give one !! about 4g like its any faster than my wifi everywhere i go

i guess specs only matter when they favor the iphone [pic] at some of the !! i read in the phone section