US vs UK iPhone

I would assume different models or not if you purchase in the U.S. and also purchase the right SIM for where you will be, The phone will work fine. LTE is going to depend on the Carrier you get on also where you will be but the phone will be LTE capable.

You want a phone that plays well in the frequency bands 3,7, 20, 42 and 43. See this wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks), scroll down to 'Europe' and find the UK in there and it will tell you what carriers operate on what frequency band. This is for LTE, but you can find something similar for 3G as well.

When the iPhone 6 comes out, check out this page (https://www.apple.com/iphone-5s/specs/) that is equivalent for the phone. Scroll down to 'celluar and wireless' and it will tell you which model operates on what frequencies. Get the phone that matches the frequency to the UK carrier and you'll have no trouble.

It might be a bit of a hassle, but it's worth it. The £ is strong and stuff is expensive compared to the USA. Just don't rush in to it and find yourself with an expensive brick when you get over here

Alex

ruler22 said:

Thanks. Is there one that plays better (overall) in both markets, or am I right in assuming that a UK phone will be a little handicapped in the US in regards to 4G LTE (with a SIM for the US), and likewise a US bought phone would be slightly handicapped in the UK?

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That is correct, the european models of the iPhone are incompatible with LTE in the U.S and vice versa

In UK iPhones are more expensive than in USA and have less LTE bands. I think Verizon iPhone 6 will have all LTE bands and will come factory unlocked.

ruler22 said:

Thanks. Is there one that plays better (overall) in both markets, or am I right in assuming that a UK phone will be a little handicapped in the US in regards to 4G LTE (with a SIM for the US), and likewise a US bought phone would be slightly handicapped in the UK?

Click to expand...

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/iphone/iphone-faq/differences-between-iphone-5s-models.html

The European iPhone 5s has LTE bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20. The US GSM model 5s has LTE bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25.

You'll have to figure out which bands are used by the carriers you're interested in using and see which one is the best choice. I'd pick the US model, as it's only missing band 7. But if the carrier of your choice in the UK mainly utilizes band 7, then that wouldn't work out very well.

Go for US iPhone. You got nothing to worry about.
End of Discussion!!!