British Carrier Says 5G iPhone Just 'Days Away' in Internal Video Featuring Apple's Eddy Cue

[Veinticinco]

The BT reference is largely irrelevant, this is EE one of the big three UK mobile networks (the other being known as 3 confusingly). They got a year exclusive on the first cellular Apple Watch.

That's said, maybe it is relevant as if you have a problem with your BT broadband connection, you'll usually get the fantastically helpful and specific response..."don't worry, our engineer will be out to you *within days*".

 

[5105973]

don't know about this 'announcement' but Eddie is looking and old and frail - I hope is the sh**it zoom transmission that is giving me that vibe

He and Craig both got grey kind of fast in the last couple of years. I think Eddy has got a bit of Covid hair going on. It looks longer than he usually keeps it. I see that on everyone since lockdowns. One of our friends has a bad case of Snape hair!

And I personally am used to seeing Eddy zipping around on a stage in crazy purples, not sitting on a sofa in a pale color. I’m thinking he’s well. I hope so. I never realized until fairly recently how much he must actually bring to the table.

 

[Veinticinco]

I was thinking before this month is over.

Hence why he said "days" (8 left) not "weeks".

 

[Veinticinco]

What’s more fun is having full bars yet still not being able to transceive data.

This. Bane of my life.

 

[StevieD100]

Oh dear. How many more Ads with Kevin Bacon can we bear? (none)
We get his smiling face on EE ads all the time here. They are (IMHO) the most expensive network outside of special offers. EE delivers 1 bar of 3G to my home so I'd never join up.

 

[EugW]

Ironically, these days, I don't use much data as I'm still working from home. I've averaged only 4 GB per month in the last couple of months. I am now wondering if I should downgrade from my 15 GB plan.

Before COVID I was in the 8-10 GB range.

Anyhow, I still welcome 5G in the new iPhone, since I generally keep my phones a long time. If I didn't get 5G with the iPhone 12 Pro/Max, then it would likely mean I wouldn't have it for several years. I'm currently on the 2016 iPhone 7 Plus.

Apple themselves said it it's a few weeks away not few months. Don't see that happening. November seems unlikely.

Depends on what you mean by November. IMO November is unlikely for an iPhone event as it's too late. However, I might expect a model or two of the iPhone not to be available until November, even if the announcement is as early as Sept. 30.

Remember some people thought it was a clue that Apple used “add an event for September 30” in its iPad Air demo? Some people thought that might refer to when the iPhone announcements will be made. So yeah I think it probably is just a few days away.

And I agree they’d aim for early October at the latest for the announcements. Like most everyone else, I don’t know when they can actually open for preorders on the various models. But I don’t think it would be as late as November for all of them. I’m inclined to believe the rumors pointing to some sort of staggered release with October for at least one or two of the models.

I personally don’t care when they are actually put up for preorders but like you and most people around here I look forward to the announcements. I always look forward for iPhone announcements. It’s as fun for me now as it ever was. I’m planning on keeping my 11 Pro, but will give the mini iphone a look.

Yeah, releases in both October and November.

 

[fs454]

"Eddy Cue made a brief appearance during the video, praising EE for becoming the first carrier to offer smartphone plans bundled with multiple Apple services"

Ah yes, that sounds totally relevant to 5G, doesn't it

It legitimizes the rest of the claims in the video if an Apple exec is making a direct appearance in the content.

 

[5105973]

Heck, I'm not overly concerned with 5G but I desparately wnat a new phone so I can get rid of the Intel modem in my X. It's horrible. Hoping the Qualcomm in the new phones will be tons better. My phone sometimes drops to straight 4G in my area (not LTE) and I can't even get on the web, get mail or make a call when that happens. Same happens with1 bar of LTE. So bring on the Q!!

I have a Samsung S20. I unfortunately don’t have access to 5G where I live, but I can happily state that the Qualcomm modem in it and my previous Android phones have given me excellent cellular connectivity over 4G.

However, I do have my concerns about how Apple designed and implemented the antenna. They didn’t want to use Qualcomm’s design and went with their own. Usually their own stuff is quite good and even superior. I’m not so sure about their antennas though. Let’s hope they’ve come a long way since “you’re holding it wrong.” We shall see.

 

[dannyyankou]

Apple themselves said it it's a few weeks away not few months. Don't see that happening. November seems unlikely.

They said that before they even started production, which started about a full month and a half later than iPhone 11. First week of November is realistic.

 

[bigchrisfgb]

The BT reference is largely irrelevant, this is EE one of the big three UK mobile networks (the other being known as 3 confusingly). They got a year exclusive on the first cellular Apple Watch.

That's said, maybe it is relevant as if you have a problem with your BT broadband connection, you'll usually get the fantastically helpful and specific response..."don't worry, our engineer will be out to you *within days*".

Yeah, I was with them when they were Orange.
I don’t know how they get away with saying they have 99% coverage of the U.K. they have nothing of the sort.
Their plans are also fairly expensive.

In about 2012 I switched to 02, and I’ve never looked back.
Far better coverage in my experience, far better indoor coverage, and much more affordable plans.

 

[Cosmosent]

Food for thought ...

how many AAPL customers are satisfied with their Mac AND/OR iPad purchases earlier this year, & will use that as an Excuse to pass on this year's iPhone announced in Oct ?

My guess, a good number !

Perhaps as much as one-third !

I think Expectations need to be Tempered !

A reduced-Price iPhone 11 could be the BIG seller later this year, which wouldn't be a bad thing for AAPL.

 

[Samut]

Wow interesting use of words. He said Days, and not weeks or months. Invites this week? :O

Invites should be coming out tomorrow for the next weeks event. 😊

 

[Fred Zed]

Looks like Prosser and Chu Min have a new competitor.

 

[DotCom2]

Heck, I'm not overly concerned with 5G but I desparately wnat a new phone so I can get rid of the Intel modem in my X. It's horrible. Hoping the Qualcomm in the new phones will be tons better. My phone sometimes drops to straight 4G in my area (not LTE) and I can't even get on the web, get mail or make a call when that happens. Same happens with1 bar of LTE. So bring on the Q!!

Me too! I want to get rid of my XS Max with crappy Intel modem, and am getting a new Mac as soon as the Apple Silicon comes out and getting rid of Intel on that too!!

 

[murad_fourth]

Have you ever thought that why the #AppleEvent hashtag is available until September 28th? 😏

It has a simple answer, if you don’t think too deeply. 👀

 

[ksujoel]

My wallet is ready!

 

[The Game 161]

5G is still pointless and won't be a thing for another year

 

[kaz911]

Yeah, I was with them when they were Orange.
I don’t know how they get away with saying they have 99% coverage of the U.K. they have nothing of the sort.
Their plans are also fairly expensive.

In about 2012 I switched to 02, and I’ve never looked back.
Far better coverage in my experience, far better indoor coverage, and much more affordable plans.

I have now lived in the UK for almost 6 years - coming from the Middle East.

I'm terrified how bad 3G & 4G coverage is in the UK. Rarely do I have > 3-4 bars. The mobile networks in the UK are horrendous in general.

5G requires for high speed - 8-12 times the masts to provide the same coverage as 4G. So you can probably guess how badly the UK will be covered by 5G. There is NO "Mid Band" in the UK that will increase the range per transmitter. The frequencies are 700 MHz, 3.4-3.8 GHz and 24-27 GHz. 700 MHz will have LONG range but be slow. 3.4-3.8 GHZ will be "fast" but about 1/4 of the range of current LTE at 1.8-2.1 GHz per mast (therefore require 8-12 times the masts). 24-27GHz will have very very short range.

There is currently NO consumer application that is relevant for 5G.

 

[compwiz1202]

What do they mean by "days away"? To me it's 1 week tops. So they better clarify that.

Same as how a few weeks should be a max of three, not a month or months

 

[compwiz1202]

All the carriers sit on extra performance. For three reasons:
1. It's more profitable.
2. In case a competitor launches something that gets them farther ahead.
3. People are less discontent when they get consistent speeds than if they get occasional higher than promised speeds because they can't tell the difference between what they are supposed to get and what they got - they just know "it feels slow."

3 is key. Would rather always get usable speeds than sometimes 2-3x and something nada

 

[treyjustice]

I don’t understand the 5G craze, LTE is more that sufficient for most people. Not to mention, some networks aren’t even fully done rolling out LTE, why begin another project? AT&T’s LTE is so poor in my area.

For companies like Tmobile I think their 5G is going to allow them to reach more people in rural areas, something they struggle with now over LTE

 

[zombierunner]

Few days away means something different here

 

[bigchrisfgb]

I have now lived in the UK for almost 6 years - coming from the Middle East.

I'm terrified how bad 3G & 4G coverage is in the UK. Rarely do I have > 3-4 bars. The mobile networks in the UK are horrendous in general.

5G requires for high speed - 8-12 times the masts to provide the same coverage as 4G. So you can probably guess how badly the UK will be covered by 5G. There is NO "Mid Band" in the UK that will increase the range per transmitter. The frequencies are 700 MHz, 3.4-3.8 GHz and 24-27 GHz. 700 MHz will have LONG range but be slow. 3.4-3.8 GHZ will be "fast" but about 1/4 of the range of current LTE at 1.8-2.1 GHz per mast (therefore require 8-12 times the masts). 24-27GHz will have very very short range.

There is currently NO consumer application that is relevant for 5G.

In all honesty having 2 bars of 4g is sufficient for a decent signal on it. 3G isn’t exactly bad either.

5g will be mostly used in city and town centre’s, and possibly just highly designated areas of each city/town centre. I don’t see it being feasible to use outside of urban areas for quite some time.

 

[neoelectronaut]

Oh god please, I almost bought an 2020 iPhone SE over the weekend because my current iPhone is such dire straits.

 

[kaz911]

In all honesty having 2 bars of 4g is sufficient for a decent signal on it. 3G isn’t exactly bad either.

5g will be mostly used in city and town centre’s, and possibly just highly designated areas of each city/town centre. I don’t see it being feasible to use outside of urban areas for quite some time.

2 Bars are rarely enough for a stable phone connection while on a call if you move around. 2 Bars can be enough to get reasonable data for checking mail. Walk past one obstacle while on 2 bars and you loose a talk connection. I tested all the providers in my old home and found Vodaphone to be the best of the worst (Kew/London) - where coverage is supposed to be super. I rarely had coverage on the ground floor inside. First floor marginal. 2nd Floor ok - with the one with the best coverage. Only saving grace was good internet and Mobile via WiFi calling.

Now I'm in a different location - where vodaphone is absolutely terrible (max 2 bars) - but my contract is up - so guess it is 3 or someone else. With Three I now have LTE Broadband backup modem and get ... 170 Mbps down and 40 Mbps down (and about the same with my Virgin Media Sim)