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Apple May Be Throttling Verizon iPhone 7 LTE Performance
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That scale looks wrong. I would hope that LTE speeds, especially when testing, are within range of at least 15-25mbps down.
That scale shows 0-5 megabits per second.
Perhaps it's meant to be labeled "MB/s" (megabytes per second)
That scale shows 0-5 megabits per second.
Perhaps it's meant to be labeled "MB/s" (megabytes per second)
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Actually that kind of speed difference makes a HUGE impact on day to day life for me. Bottom line is I am an IT manager and often need the higher speeds to get the job done efficiently when I am somewhere without WiFi. So this is indeed a huge deal.
My other issue is that this is a hardware manufacturer imposing limits on a service that people pay a higher price for because they expect the faster speeds.
I am very unimpressed with Apple's decision to use two different modems in the iPhone 7, however this report seems somewhat inaccurate to me. The Qualcomm modem has been acknowledged to have slightly to much better reception. In a normal configuration, this modem would be capable of a theoretical 600 mbps download. Since the Intel modem is only capable of 450, it would only be logical that Apple would "cripple" (I think that's a much better word than throttle in this context) the Qualcomm modem so as to lessen the gap between the two and make them as similar as possible, hoping to avoid what has already happened to some extent with comparisons between the two.
Sure it does...
"Though the two phones are performing on a similar level, past testing by Cellular Insights suggests that changes somewhat when signal strength is an issue. In areas of weak reception, the Verizon iPhone noticeably outperforms the AT&T iPhone by maintaining a stronger connection and enabling faster low-signal transfer speeds."
I wonder if Apple is getting a kickback from AT&T to protect AT&T's reputation. Can't imagine Apple doing this unless there were some profit in it for them.
If Apple is in fact purposely slowing the Verizon phone's modem, then that is disappointing at the least.
The possibility that the Intel chip on Verizon phones may be underperforming is something you might look at. The very idea that they would "throttle" a phone to not make AT&T look bad is ridiculous on its face.
Reading all the recent MacRumors' articles.... not much positive news for Apple.
Some reports might be FUD, some pure opinion, some true.. but in all my MacRumors' years (many of them.... see below my avatar) I cannot remember a time where so much Apple-enthusiasts had to read so much negative news in such a short time.
I remember the PPC -> Intel switch which lead to HUGE differences in opinions, the end of the Xserve, the Final Cut Pro X intro, the abolition of Aperture, etc. but these major "incidents" were large strategic decisions which turned out for the best.
The latest "bad news" is simply bad press.
@ Apple: get back on track.
Some reports might be FUD, some pure opinion, some true.. but in all my MacRumors' years (many of them.... see below my avatar) I cannot remember a time where so much Apple-enthusiasts had to read so much negative news in such a short time.
I remember the PPC -> Intel switch which lead to HUGE differences in opinions, the end of the Xserve, the Final Cut Pro X intro, the abolition of Aperture, etc. but these major "incidents" were large strategic decisions which turned out for the best.
The latest "bad news" is simply bad press.
@ Apple: get back on track.
If it is indeed megabits per second, 5 Mb/second would correspond to about 625K/sec.
Whatever the scale, usually when something is being throttled artificially, you'd see a flatline at the top edge where the cut is happening. There's way too much fluctuation/variation in the iPhone 7 Qualcomm version. The Samsung and at&t benchmarks seem a lot closer to reality.
Why the huge spikes? Something is really fishy with his data.
I'm talking about just the U.S. The Verizon S7 Edge I know can be used on AT&T, T-mobile, Verizon, and any other GSM carrier. But I'm more so talking about the Nexus/Pixel phones, Motorola, LG, HTC, and likely more - all had phones that worked on all US carriers.
Wasn't the 6S able to be used on any carrier? You could get the AT&T model and use it on Verizon if you wanted.
I was getting reception in my flat with 6S plus, low bars but constant, and with my 7 plus, it would spent most of its time on no service. Yes I live in a bad reception area, though spent 2 weeks comparing both phones and 6S was easy winner
Apple have become master hornswogglers and it appears, from many of the comments, the Apple fan base are quite alright with the deception.
Ah nice. Intel can't build a comparable LTE module so just throttle the Qualcomm one to make them "even."
Just for clarification, AT&T (and T-Mobile) has the Intel chips. Verizon (and Sprint) has the Qualcomm chips.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed this. I thought I had somehow jumped back to 2008. I get 10Mb/s without LTE on AT&T.
The 6S and 6S Plus, while having a couple of models, were completely compatible with every U.S. carrier and most non-U.S. carriers.
This is asinine.
Apple is using Intel models for the TMo/AT&T model because they don't want to pay Qualcomm's CDMA patent fees.
Confirms I'm not going totally crazy when I compared my 6S to the 7. I thought there was something wrong with the phone when running speedtests on the same carrier and saw the 6s maintain margin over the current model. Newer firmwares only seem to have bought it in line with the 6s speeds. I honestly was expecting the 7 to beat it hands down over the 6s regardless of who made the chip.
Not a good enough test, if you could test your AT&T sim in the Verizon iPhone (Verizon iPhones should have unlocked SIMs) that would be a better test. The idea, place a call on your AT&T iPhone 7 in a spotty area and see if it drops, then place the call with a Verizon iPhone 7 that has your AT&T SIM in it in the same spot you placed the AT&T iPhone call. See if the reception with the Verizon iPhone 7 on AT&T is better and/or if the call quality is better over the Qualcomm modem.
that's because apple wants to save their money for bonuses for tim and the rest of the uncreative phonies who now permeate apple. If only Jobs were still alive. It makes me want to cry.