Carrier Gigabit LTE - Why is nobody talking about this?

[BiggAW]

Intel has only had their cellular business since 2010 when they purchased WLS and didn't ship LTE until 2013: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/inside-intel-apos-booming-cellular-223000255.html

They bought Infineon, and Infineon has a history of crap radios too. The iPhone 4 was crap (nothing to do with Antennagate, which was basically a made-up brouhaha about nothing since you had to take the case off the phone and hold it a certain way to make it happen) because it used an Infineon radio, while the VeriPhone 4 and iPhone 4s were great, since they used Qualcomm chips.

I'll agree that they had been behind and their products have performed differently, sometimes with worse performance than Qualcomm's. On the other hand, it sounds like you're at the point of Qualcomm-or-bust, which is fair, but you may want to start hoarding iPhone 8/8 Plus/X units or jump to Android since early reports say the Xr/Xs/Xs Max appear to be Intel-only.

Obviously, if the performance is lousy and there are problems, that's going to be a big mess for Apple and I think we'll all sit there and say "yeah, BiggAW was right all along" and you'll get the kudos you deserve. On the other hand, I'd like to think at Apple's size and how important the iPhone is to their future, they'd take into consideration if they were shooting themselves in the foot.

There may be Android phones that have better performance in the ability to keep a signal or raw speed from a tower or even having a new technology first. I don't think anyone here is arguing that.

The thing with the iPhone 8 Plus is that it's not a compelling product compared to what's out there on Android that's a year newer. Even just on radio technology, it lacks B14 and 4x4 MIMO, and it's based on the X16 platform. B14, 4x4 MIMO, and the X20 all improve signal reception and reliability even further over what Qualcomm already had.

That being said, if I were an iPhone aficionado, I would have bought the iPhone 8 Plus Product [RED] SIM free and would hold on to it as long as I could.

For me personally, I was pretty sure I was going to switch back to the iPhone about 6 months ago, but now after the pricing, the Intel modems, and the package Samsung put together on the Note 9, I think it's pretty clear who is competing harder for my dollars, even after the Galaxy S7 battery degradation disaster (it has nothing to do directly with the Note 7 thermal runaway problems, but I think that kickstarted their battery development process and has now caused Samsung to have the safest, longest lasting batteries on the market).

We've already seen that barely anyone, even tech writers who should know better, write much about the inferior Intel radios. This isn't going to be much different with the Xs/Xs Max/Xr, so I wouldn't expect widespread controversy over it. I am curious about what Sascha Segan has to say, as he's already said he's going to do testing on the new iPhones and compare them to Qualcomm devices.

Unfortunately, that is now the case. The iPhone 8+ SIM free was almost as good with RF performance as anything on the Android side, but that will not be the case with the Xs/Xs Max/Xr, so Android phones will just have better service, and iPhone users who stick around will see a lot more of No Service and, on AT&T, Faux G. People's $1449 iPhones will have worse reception than $250 Android phones from Wal-Mart.

 

[5105973]

They bought Infineon, and Infineon has a history of crap radios too. The iPhone 4 was crap (nothing to do with Antennagate, which was basically a made-up brouhaha about nothing since you had to take the case off the phone and hold it a certain way to make it happen) because it used an Infineon radio, while the VeriPhone 4 and iPhone 4s were great, since they used Qualcomm chips.



The thing with the iPhone 8 Plus is that it's not a compelling product compared to what's out there on Android that's a year newer. Even just on radio technology, it lacks B14 and 4x4 MIMO, and it's based on the X16 platform. B14, 4x4 MIMO, and the X20 all improve signal reception and reliability even further over what Qualcomm already had.

That being said, if I were an iPhone aficionado, I would have bought the iPhone 8 Plus Product [RED] SIM free and would hold on to it as long as I could.

For me personally, I was pretty sure I was going to switch back to the iPhone about 6 months ago, but now after the pricing, the Intel modems, and the package Samsung put together on the Note 9, I think it's pretty clear who is competing harder for my dollars, even after the Galaxy S7 battery degradation disaster (it has nothing to do directly with the Note 7 thermal runaway problems, but I think that kickstarted their battery development process and has now caused Samsung to have the safest, longest lasting batteries on the market).

We've already seen that barely anyone, even tech writers who should know better, write much about the inferior Intel radios. This isn't going to be much different with the Xs/Xs Max/Xr, so I wouldn't expect widespread controversy over it. I am curious about what Sascha Segan has to say, as he's already said he's going to do testing on the new iPhones and compare them to Qualcomm devices.

Unfortunately, that is now the case. The iPhone 8+ SIM free was almost as good with RF performance as anything on the Android side, but that will not be the case with the Xs/Xs Max/Xr, so Android phones will just have better service, and iPhone users who stick around will see a lot more of No Service and, on AT&T, Faux G. People's $1449 iPhones will have worse reception than $250 Android phones from Wal-Mart.

Sadly I picked the AT&T Intel version of the Product Red 8 Plus to hold onto. And here’s why: When I first bought an unlocked Qualcomm Silver 8 Plus to use on AT&T the call quality was absolutely rubbish. My callers and I could barely hear each other over the cutting in and out and the crackle and buzz.

I was worried Apple had done something a bit too extreme to gimp Qualcomm modems to match or even perform worse than Intel modems. Because our Qualcomm Intel IPhone 7 Plus modems didn’t work all that great either. My husband’s new iPhone X Intel modem and the one on my X that I had briefly were much better as phones. So I took the unlocked iPhone 8 Plus and exchanged it for the At&T version that works much better. But no, it can’t touch even my much older HTC 10 for call clarity.

When I decided to get a Product Red 8 Plus to hang onto for the LCD and Touch ID, I almost decided to give the sim free version another try. But I chickened out. I do regret that decision. It’s okay as a phone but not great. I’m fortunate to be able to maintain a line for Android phones. Currently I’m using a Galaxy S9+ which is excellent.

I’m also interested in Sascha Segan’s upcoming reviews. He’s the only writer I’ve seen who seems to be paying attention to this subject.

Apple’s fight with Qualcomm is a loss for its customers.

 

[BiggAW]

Sadly I picked the AT&T Intel version of the Product Red 8 Plus to hold onto. And here’s why: When I first bought an unlocked Qualcomm Silver 8 Plus to use on AT&T the call quality was absolutely rubbish. My callers and I could barely hear each other over the cutting in and out and the crackle and buzz.

I was worried Apple had done something a bit too extreme to gimp Qualcomm modems to match or even perform worse than Intel modems. Because our Qualcomm Intel IPhone 7 Plus modems didn’t work all that great either. My husband’s new iPhone X Intel modem and the one on my X that I had briefly were much better as phones. So I took the unlocked iPhone 8 Plus and exchanged it for the At&T version that works much better. But no, it can’t touch even my much older HTC 10 for call clarity.

When I decided to get a Product Red 8 Plus to hang onto for the LCD and Touch ID, I almost decided to give the sim free version another try. But I chickened out. I do regret that decision. It’s okay as a phone but not great. I’m fortunate to be able to maintain a line for Android phones. Currently I’m using a Galaxy S9+ which is excellent.

I’m also interested in Sascha Segan’s upcoming reviews. He’s the only writer I’ve seen who seems to be paying attention to this subject.

Apple’s fight with Qualcomm is a loss for its customers.

That's bizarre. If you have an Android phone with you, then it doesn't really matter, and you could move on to the Xr or Xs series anyway, and when you're in an area with weak reception, just use the S9+, which is going to slightly outperform even a Qualcomm iPhone, since it's based on a year newer Qualcomm technology.

You should give Face ID another shot, as they have supposedly made it faster, so that it would be as fast as Touch ID was on the 8+.

Yeah, most tech writers are all over the shiny objects and not the important stuff. He has done quite a bit of writing in the past about the more technical aspects of things, so it will be interesting to see what he comes out with. It probably won't be out for at least a few weeks based on the release cycle, and time to test. I also hope that he does both subway testing in NYC (I believe he's NYC based?) as well as taking the phones upstate to areas with extreme fringe reception. Lab testing would be really interesting as well where everything can be precisely controlled. I'd love to see lab data on the last 3 years of phones all stacked up to see how Intel and Qualcomm are improving, and how many years of a gap there is between Qualcomm and Intel.

 

[5105973]

That's bizarre. If you have an Android phone with you, then it doesn't really matter, and you could move on to the Xr or Xs series anyway, and when you're in an area with weak reception, just use the S9+, which is going to slightly outperform even a Qualcomm iPhone, since it's based on a year newer Qualcomm technology.

You should give Face ID another shot, as they have supposedly made it faster, so that it would be as fast as Touch ID was on the 8+.

Yeah, most tech writers are all over the shiny objects and not the important stuff. He has done quite a bit of writing in the past about the more technical aspects of things, so it will be interesting to see what he comes out with. It probably won't be out for at least a few weeks based on the release cycle, and time to test. I also hope that he does both subway testing in NYC (I believe he's NYC based?) as well as taking the phones upstate to areas with extreme fringe reception. Lab testing would be really interesting as well where everything can be precisely controlled. I'd love to see lab data on the last 3 years of phones all stacked up to see how Intel and Qualcomm are improving, and how many years of a gap there is between Qualcomm and Intel.

I do have an XS Max on order. It doesn’t arrive for another couple of weeks. I might end up with an Xr if the pwm flicker on the OLED hurts my eyes. My S9+ display doesn’t bother my eyes but the one on my X did.

 

[BiggAW]

I do have an XS Max on order. It doesn’t arrive for another couple of weeks. I might end up with an Xr if the pwm flicker on the OLED hurts my eyes. My S9+ display doesn’t bother my eyes but the one on my X did.

If I could afford to (well if I wanted to choose to afford to I guess), I'd probably get an Xr or Xs to have a second phone on iOS. I've got the SE instead for about $90. Do you do app development or test phones for a living or is it just a hobby for you? That's really interesting, I've never heard that about OLEDs, as Samsung has been using them for almost a decade now.

I've pretty much settled on the Note 9 to replace my Galaxy S7 sometime in the next few months. I hope to get 3+ years out of, with all that storage and power...

 

[FFR]

Intel has been consistently behind Qualcomm for 7+ years. They're not magically going to catch up in one year.

Sure when you compare the 2018 Qualcomm x20 to the 2017 intel xmm7480, intel is “consistently behind”.

Must be magic :

2017 Qualcomm x16

2017 intel 7480

 

[5105973]

If I could afford to (well if I wanted to choose to afford to I guess), I'd probably get an Xr or Xs to have a second phone on iOS. I've got the SE instead for about $90. Do you do app development or test phones for a living or is it just a hobby for you? That's really interesting, I've never heard that about OLEDs, as Samsung has been using them for almost a decade now.

I've pretty much settled on the Note 9 to replace my Galaxy S7 sometime in the next few months. I hope to get 3+ years out of, with all that storage and power...

It’s just a hobby. I love tech but I don’t have the education in it that my husband has. There’s a lot I have to work hard to understand that he easily grasps.

If I had more free time and more opportunity I’d probably be into drones. A good buddy of mine is into them and has been trying to get me interested, but right now I divide my time between teenagers not yet able to drive, four elderly parents and in-laws, 3 of whom are very disabled. And I am involved in animal rescue.

At least with an interest in cell phones I can appreciate them when I’m stuck in hospitals or waiting rooms or sports practices or tracking and monitoring animals who need vet care.

 

[FFR]

It’s just a hobby. I love tech but I don’t have the education in it that my husband has. There’s a lot I have to work hard to understand that he easily grasps.

If I had more free time and more opportunity I’d probably be into drones. A good buddy of mine is into them and has been trying to get me interested, but right now I divide my time between teenagers not yet able to drive, four elderly parents and in-laws, 3 of whom are very disabled. And I am involved in animal rescue.

At least with an interest in cell phones I can appreciate them when I’m stuck in hospitals or waiting rooms or sports practices or tracking and monitoring animals who need vet care.

I think you should win the award for worlds coolest mom.

Your passion for tech is surprising.

 

[5105973]

I think you should win the award for worlds coolest mom.

Your passion for tech is surprising.

Oh thank you! But I meet way way cooler moms in the course of what I do. I just happen to hang out on a forum and they don’t. But really there are some remarkable people out there. And we always hear so many bad things about teenagers because the news dwells on sensationalizing negativity, but there are some amazing selfless teens working in the community, too and of course they’re more tech savvy than I am.

 

[FFR]

Oh thank you! But I meet way way cooler moms in the course of what I do. I just happen to hang out on a forum and they don’t. But really there are some remarkable people out there. And we always hear so many bad things about teenagers because the news dwells on sensationalizing negativity, but there are some amazing selfless teens working in the community, too and of course they’re more tech savvy than I am.

Yeah but none of them were on crackberry when the ship was sinking.

You get mad props for that.

 

[BiggAW]

Sure when you compare the 2018 Qualcomm x20 to the 2017 intel xmm7480, intel is “consistently behind”.

Must be magic :

2017 Qualcomm x16

2017 intel 7480

As I said in the other thread, you are intellectually dishonest. The Cellular Insights report is clear that under perfect conditions, there is no speed difference. Good for you for finding a tower with an unloaded 20x20, standing 500' from it, looking at it, and running speed tests that prove absolutely nothing about real-world performance. I've done just that for fun, just to see how fast they can go, but it is utterly and totally useless in an Intel-Qualcomm comparison, and it's dishonest to suggest that they do.

It’s just a hobby. I love tech but I don’t have the education in it that my husband has. There’s a lot I have to work hard to understand that he easily grasps.

If I had more free time and more opportunity I’d probably be into drones. A good buddy of mine is into them and has been trying to get me interested, but right now I divide my time between teenagers not yet able to drive, four elderly parents and in-laws, 3 of whom are very disabled. And I am involved in animal rescue.

At least with an interest in cell phones I can appreciate them when I’m stuck in hospitals or waiting rooms or sports practices or tracking and monitoring animals who need vet care.

Cool! Drones are pretty awesome too. I've always liked being cross platform, and for a while I had an active iPhone and Android device on AT&T. Now I have two Android devices that are active and some iOS devices on Wi-Fi. Good for you for taking care of everyone and everything, that can't be easy with 2 generations and the doggos or kittehs pulling you every which way.

 

[Technarchy]

My 4G LTE with AT&T has never skipped a beat. It works so well that the notion of faster doesn't seem incredibly important. On average I'm in the 40+mb range.

 

[Apple_Robert]

My 4G LTE with AT&T has never skipped a beat. It works so well that the notion of faster doesn't seem incredibly important. On average I'm in the 40+mb range.

For many here, it is all doom and gloom if the iPhone can't be the fastest speed every second of every day of every year regardless.

Too many get hung up on specs and potential specs, instead of real world usage practicality.

 

[Packers1958]

I remember the first LTE capable iPhones on Verizon. Talk about poor connection. Those were dogs. I remember when it would drop from LTE to 3G, and the only way you get it to switch back to LTE was to reboot the phone.

 

[BiggAW]

For many here, it is all doom and gloom if the iPhone can't be the fastest speed every second of every day of every year regardless.

Too many get hung up on specs and potential specs, instead of real world usage practicality.

You people don't get it. It's not about getting 10 or 20mbps more on Speedtest. Who cares. It's about when the Galaxy S9+ or Note 9 has 2mbps of LTE on B12 and the Intel iPhone has NOTHING.

 

[Apple_Robert]

You people don't get it. It's not about getting 10 or 20mbps more on Speedtest. Who cares. It's about when the Galaxy S9+ or Note 9 has 2mbps of LTE on B12 and the Intel iPhone has NOTHING.

You have been complaining about the new phone and you haven't even used it. Not very logical.

 

[gadgetfreaky]

You people don't get it. It's not about getting 10 or 20mbps more on Speedtest. Who cares. It's about when the Galaxy S9+ or Note 9 has 2mbps of LTE on B12 and the Intel iPhone has NOTHING.

Im as skeptical on anything Intel makes as you but until there are benchmarks on the new modem vs x20 im not sure the point,

 

[FFR]

As I said in the other thread, you are intellectually dishonest. The Cellular Insights report is clear that under perfect conditions, there is no speed difference. Good for you for finding a tower with an unloaded 20x20, standing 500' from it, looking at it, and running speed tests that prove absolutely nothing about real-world performance. I've done just that for fun, just to see how fast they can go, but it is utterly and totally useless in an Intel-Qualcomm comparison, and it's dishonest to suggest that they do.



Cool! Drones are pretty awesome too. I've always liked being cross platform, and for a while I had an active iPhone and Android device on AT&T. Now I have two Android devices that are active and some iOS devices on Wi-Fi. Good for you for taking care of everyone and everything, that can't be easy with 2 generations and the doggos or kittehs pulling you every which way.

That was a screens shot from YouTube android reviewer, who did the test.
Unbelievable.

It contradicts your assertions.

The only dishonest one here is the one comparing a 2018 modem to a 2017 modem and calling it fair and objective.

That’s on you.

 

[TheMadBrewer]

This thread is starting to remind me of the Boeing vs Airbus threads on some of the frequent flyer boards I'm on

 

[FFR]

This thread is starting to remind me of the Boeing vs Airbus threads on some of the frequent flyer boards I'm on

Go ahead 787 or a380

 

[bushman4]

gigabyte LTE is something that carriers may adapt down the line but at this point in time you’ll see very little difference.

What Apple is saying is that if your carrier offers a gigabyte download speed the new iPhones can handle it. Meanwhile the carriers don’t even offer that kind of speed
At this point it’s just terminology

 

[Miltz]

Are there any real reviews of Intel’s latest chip? How does everyone know the chip is poop when it hasn’t even been released yet? For the record I have a X with T-Mobile and it’s the service I’ve ever heard in my life. So yes, last years intel chip is poop.

 

[FFR]

Are there any real reviews of Intel’s latest chip? How does everyone know the chip is poop when it hasn’t even been released yet? For the record I have a X with T-Mobile and it’s the service I’ve ever heard in my life. So yes, last years intel chip is poop.

iPhone X is terrible on T-Mobile, but that’s not because of intel, that’s on account of band 71.

All 2018 phones should have it.

 

[BiggAW]

That was a screens shot from YouTube android reviewer, who did the test.
Unbelievable.

It contradicts your assertions.

The only dishonest one here is the one comparing a 2018 modem to a 2017 modem and calling it fair and objective.

That’s on you.

No it doesn't. You are extremely dishonest. Those screenshots are clearly with a near perfect signal on a lightly loaded tower. There's no other way to get 100mbps+ speeds. That's the single, rare use case where the Cellular Insights report found Intel and Qualcomm to perform about the same. In every other use case, Qualcomm wins, and the win is by a larger and larger margin as you get to weaker and weaker signal areas.

 

[FFR]

No it doesn't. You are extremely dishonest. Those screenshots are clearly with a near perfect signal on a lightly loaded tower. There's no other way to get 100mbps+ speeds. That's the single, rare use case where the Cellular Insights report found Intel and Qualcomm to perform about the same. In every other use case, Qualcomm wins, and the win is by a larger and larger margin as you get to weaker and weaker signal areas.

The screenshots are from unbox therapy.

You keep comparing a 2017 iPhone to the 2018 Qualcomm modem.

You didn’t even once mention that you were comparing a 2017 intel to a 2018 Qualcomm modem.

That’s dishonest.