Next-Generation iPhone to Have "Faster Internet Speeds"?

MacRumors · Mar 20, 2009, 01:04 PM

Silicon Alley Insider reports on rumors from a mobile industry source saying that the next-generation iPhone will have "a significantly faster Internet connection." While no further information is given as to whether this is referring to cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity, Silicon Alley Insider lays out some possibilities based on what is known about the state of the technology.

Quote:

- This can't be referring to AT&T's 4G (LTE) network, because that won't be ready for a year or more.
- This might be referring to faster wifi, and not faster 3G access? (802.11n vs. its current 802.11g/b.)
- AT&T has repeatedly vowed to speed up its 3G network via updates to the network. Is it possible that the current iPhone can't support those increased speeds?
- We don't expect Apple to comment, but we've asked.

Electronista provides more detail on AT&T's plans for faster 3G running at 7.2 Mbps, up from the 3.6 Mbps speed of the current network.

Quote:

However, the most likely change is the addition of support for speed-doubled 7.2Mbps 3G given both hardware manufacturer and carrier plans. Infineon should have a new 3G chipset starting from mid-year that would support the faster speeds while also improving battery life. At the same time, AT&T has been trialing 7.2Mbps 3G since late 2008 and should roll out the speedier service this year. The provider has stressed that many of its cell towers can be upgraded solely through software rather than new equipment.

Current iPhones are limited in hardware to 3.6Mbps 3G and couldn't themselves be upgraded.

Electronista also points to the possibility of a new Broadcom 802.11n chipset being used in the next-generation iPhone to bring increased Wi-Fi speeds.

Article Link: Next-Generation iPhone to Have "Faster Internet Speeds"?

Luap · Mar 20, 2009, 01:06 PM

Its got a gigabit ethernet socket on it.

plumbingandtech · Mar 20, 2009, 01:08 PM

Double 3G speed and whatever else apple adds in the iPhone 3G 2.0 this June?

Yah... I'll update.

Airforcekid · Mar 20, 2009, 01:08 PM

Now maybe we can watch live tv or stream on apps without wifi???? Browsing speed is fast enough for me now though!

stainlessliquid · Mar 20, 2009, 01:10 PM

7.2mbps*

*Exclusive to San Francisco

plumbingandtech · Mar 20, 2009, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airforcekid

Now maybe we can watch live tv or stream on apps without wifi???? Browsing speed is fast enough for me now though!

Just thought of this, add iPhone tethering(which we know is coming in some form) to this new highspeed 3G...

nice..........

Brien · Mar 20, 2009, 01:16 PM

Well, if the new 3G and Broadcom chipsets make it in, along with the OLED screen from that (rather unlikely) rumor, we'd be looking at better battery life already.

I'm betting it's quite likely we'd see both draft-N and doublespeed 3G in the next hardware revision of the iPhone.

deannnnn · Mar 20, 2009, 01:17 PM

While this is great news, it still won't fix the problem of too many people using AT&T's 3G network at once in metropolitan areas.

rlmccormick · Mar 20, 2009, 01:17 PM

Well, I'll probably upgrade because I am one of those gadget types that likes to have the latest and greatest. It'll be interesting to see how much of a speed increase the average Joe will get from this updated hardware. 3G may be limited to 3+Mbps but I have never seen my speeds that high. It is a rarity for me to see over 1Mbps and my speed is usually around 500-600kbps.

bruinsrme · Mar 20, 2009, 01:18 PM

I hope there wil be a faster 3G or its replacement with the new iphone. I have messed around a couple of storms and Verizons 3G just seems faster.

rlmccormick · Mar 20, 2009, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airforcekid

Now maybe we can watch live tv or stream on apps without wifi???? Browsing speed is fast enough for me now though!

I'd like to see You Tube clips at the WiFi resolution. They went way too far in degrading the quality when over the cell network.

davidbrummy · Mar 20, 2009, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stainlessliquid

7.2mbps*

*Exclusive to San Francisco

Not where I live or work on 1st and Howard. I can generally only get Edge and I know many people who have the same experience. I also think there are so many iPhones owners in what is a small city (7 miles sq) it is killing the network.

I would like up wi-fi upgrade from g to n. I have the previous version of the Apple Extreme so would like to turn it to N 5GHz only.

yorkshire · Mar 20, 2009, 01:23 PM

Faster page rendering please.

Hattig · Mar 20, 2009, 01:24 PM

That's going to be faster than the average home broadband connection ... more expensive though. Probably worse contention than your typical DSL, but far more intermittent use that might make evening usage performance better than home usage performance.

And 802.11n seems very likely in this iteration.

Also it might not be necessarily referring to the US, but other 3G networks around the world which may be faster still.

lazyrighteye · Mar 20, 2009, 01:27 PM

Thoughts/opinions on whether original iPhone users who upgraded to 3G will be allowed to upgrade (again) to the newer iPhone in June?
And by "allowed" I mean for the price of the new phone + restarting your 2-year contract.

Chic0 · Mar 20, 2009, 01:28 PM

sounds like new iPhone will be capable of HSDPA.

For those in US, this is something networks in Europe have rolled out over the last 12-18months. A number of devices over here are already capable of using this.

Be good seeing this in next iPhone for sure

ateslik · Mar 20, 2009, 01:29 PM

who cares? 32Gb please.

marmot25 · Mar 20, 2009, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stainlessliquid

7.2mbps*

*Exclusive to San Francisco

This is a joke, right? Tell me it's a joke.

The bay area has the worst 3G coverage.

bagelche · Mar 20, 2009, 01:31 PM

I would be psyched it it incorporated N for the wifi.

bbydon · Mar 20, 2009, 01:32 PM

But "N" wifi isn't any faster for the internet than "G".
Isn't the internet slower than "G"?

yorkshire · Mar 20, 2009, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ateslik

who cares? 32Gb please.

I think this is quite likely for June. But not before.

lazyrighteye · Mar 20, 2009, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chic0

sounds like new iPhone will be capable of HSDPA.

Is HSDPA+ happening yet (or is that part of LTE)?
Said to top out at 42 Mbit/s downlink.

dextermorgan · Mar 20, 2009, 01:33 PM

I might actually buy one if it has wireless n.

8CoreWhore · 01:46 PM

ATT will get much faster... both phones will get faster.. the iPhone 3G will go to 3.6Mbps and the next iPhone will go faster. 3.6Mbps is several times faster than now.. that would be GREAT! 802.11n is not only faster (file transfers in home network)... it supports much longer distances... longer distances are needed so you can connect from the street... higher speeds from Wifi is not needed for internet as the internet connection is slower than 802.11b/g or n anyway. The recent Apple Extreme Base Stations will run on 802.11g if the current iPhones are also connected and n will not be used for you Macs. If you're not using wifi on your phone at the moment at home, turn that off so your AEBS can revert to n for your Macs.

Beric · Mar 20, 2009, 01:35 PM

Wireless N doesn't do downloads any faster than Wireless G. It's the device-to-device traffic that's faster. The only thing Wireless N would do is make it so the iPhone could work on N-only networks, which would be a bonus.

Mar 20, 2009, 01:08 PM	#3
plumbingandtech macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jun 2007	Double 3G speed and whatever else apple adds in the iPhone 3G 2.0 this June? Yah... I'll update. __________________ The Palm Pre is the new Sarah Palin.

Mar 20, 2009, 01:17 PM	#8
deannnnn macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: New York City & South Florida	While this is great news, it still won't fix the problem of too many people using AT&T's 3G network at once in metropolitan areas. __________________ MacBook 2.2 GHz Intel, 2 GB RAM iMac G5 20" 1.8 GHz PPC, 1.25 GB RAM iPhone 3GS 32GB

Mar 20, 2009, 01:17 PM	#9
rlmccormick macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2008	Double what? Well, I'll probably upgrade because I am one of those gadget types that likes to have the latest and greatest. It'll be interesting to see how much of a speed increase the average Joe will get from this updated hardware. 3G may be limited to 3+Mbps but I have never seen my speeds that high. It is a rarity for me to see over 1Mbps and my speed is usually around 500-600kbps.

Mar 20, 2009, 01:24 PM	#14
Hattig macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jan 2003	That's going to be faster than the average home broadband connection ... more expensive though. Probably worse contention than your typical DSL, but far more intermittent use that might make evening usage performance better than home usage performance. And 802.11n seems very likely in this iteration. Also it might not be necessarily referring to the US, but other 3G networks around the world which may be faster still. __________________ iBook — 12" 1.33GHz, 1.5GB RAM, 40GB, Combodrive, 200GB Firewire Hard Drive :: iPod — 8GB Black G3 iPod nano

Mar 20, 2009, 01:28 PM	#16
Chic0 macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: UK	sounds like new iPhone will be capable of HSDPA. For those in US, this is something networks in Europe have rolled out over the last 12-18months. A number of devices over here are already capable of using this. Be good seeing this in next iPhone for sure __________________ MBP Unibody 2.53GHz 4GB RAM; iPhone 3G; PS3; Wii

Mar 20, 2009, 01:06 PM	#2
Luap macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2004	Its got a gigabit ethernet socket on it.

Mar 20, 2009, 01:08 PM	#4
Airforcekid macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: United States of America	Now maybe we can watch live tv or stream on apps without wifi???? Browsing speed is fast enough for me now though!

Mar 20, 2009, 01:10 PM	#5
stainlessliquid macrumors 65816 Join Date: Sep 2006	7.2mbps* *Exclusive to San Francisco

Mar 20, 2009, 01:16 PM	#7
Brien macrumors 6502a Join Date: Aug 2008	Well, if the new 3G and Broadcom chipsets make it in, along with the OLED screen from that (rather unlikely) rumor, we'd be looking at better battery life already. I'm betting it's quite likely we'd see both draft-N and doublespeed 3G in the next hardware revision of the iPhone.

Mar 20, 2009, 01:18 PM	#10
bruinsrme macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Oct 2008	I hope there wil be a faster 3G or its replacement with the new iphone. I have messed around a couple of storms and Verizons 3G just seems faster.

Mar 20, 2009, 01:23 PM	#13
yorkshire macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2008 Location: God's Own County, UK	Faster page rendering please.

Mar 20, 2009, 01:27 PM	#15
lazyrighteye macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Denver, CO	Thoughts/opinions on whether original iPhone users who upgraded to 3G will be allowed to upgrade (again) to the newer iPhone in June? And by "allowed" I mean for the price of the new phone + restarting your 2-year contract.

Mar 20, 2009, 01:29 PM	#17
ateslik macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2008	who cares? 32Gb please. __________________ BRING WELCOME BACK FIREWIRE!!

Mar 20, 2009, 01:31 PM	#19
bagelche macrumors regular Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Western Mass.	I would be psyched it it incorporated N for the wifi.

Mar 20, 2009, 01:32 PM	#20
bbydon macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2005 Location: ATL	But "N" wifi isn't any faster for the internet than "G". Isn't the internet slower than "G"? __________________ iMac i7 Quad, MacPro, Black Macbook: soon to be sold, tv ipod 4g 30g, shuffle, shuffle orange, iphone 3gs. Faithful rumors reader since 2000

Mar 20, 2009, 01:33 PM	#23
dextermorgan macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2008	I might actually buy one if it has wireless n.

Mar 20, 2009, 01:33 PM	#24
8CoreWhore macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Austin, TX	ATT will get much faster... both phones will get faster.. the iPhone 3G will go to 3.6Mbps and the next iPhone will go faster. 3.6Mbps is several times faster than now.. that would be GREAT! 802.11n is not only faster (file transfers in home network)... it supports much longer distances... longer distances are needed so you can connect from the street... higher speeds from Wifi is not needed for internet as the internet connection is slower than 802.11b/g or n anyway. The recent Apple Extreme Base Stations will run on 802.11g if the current iPhones are also connected and n will not be used for you Macs. If you're not using wifi on your phone at the moment at home, turn that off so your AEBS can revert to n for your Macs. __________________ MBP 2.16 / AEBS / iPhone 3GS / 3rd Gen Shuffle Last edited by 8CoreWhore : Mar 20, 2009 at 01:46 PM.

Mar 20, 2009, 01:35 PM	#25
Beric macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jan 2008	Wireless N doesn't do downloads any faster than Wireless G. It's the device-to-device traffic that's faster. The only thing Wireless N would do is make it so the iPhone could work on N-only networks, which would be a bonus. __________________ "If I wanted an Apple phone, would I be looking at an iPod touch? If I didn't want to pay a $2000 contract, would I be looking at an iPhone?"

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