iPhone 12 Lineup's mmWave 5G Support Limited to the United States

[iOSBry]

Even a tree can block the signal. No thanks.

I read that the mmWave antenna is on the right side of the phone and looks like the SIM slot (which has moved to the left side of the phone).
If that’s the case, won’t all of the right handers attenuate the signal by touching it with their hand?

Will this be, “you’re holding it wrong” all over again?

Go here: https://www.apple.com/iphone-12-pro/ and scroll down to:
MagSafe accessories
Everything
just clicks.

You’ll see a picture of the pacific blue iPhone with the screen facing to the left and the sleep/power button on the top side and below that is the mmwave antenna that my ha d is going to be covering most of the time. Believe there is only one.

iOSBry

 

[madrigal77]

Useless technology anyway.

 

[orthorim]

Shhh.. the actual reason... NO ONE needs mmWave, no one's asked for it, at least none of us.

4G is pretty good. First thing I'll do with these is turn off the 5G. WTF is that good for? It's just more EMF.

But mmWave - that's not an EMF issue. ..... a tree or rain can block it... guess what else can block it... yes... you can block it, you're 80% water... and guess what it's an energy weapon that is grilling you literally like a microwave.

I think it's hilarious that its obvious use case as an energy weapon is sabotaged by the simple fact that it doesn't do any of the things it's advertised to do - iE fast, fast, internet. Lol. That's really quite ironic. Doesn't matter to me, I am happy mmWave 5G is the massive fail it deserves to be.

And no, normal non-mm Wave 5G is NOT a directed energy weapon. Its better 4G. Only the mmWave version is A DEW, and even the USA thinks it's a very bad idea now

And as people world wide have discovered about their nearby neighborhood 5G ... it's not any better than 4G was... 😂😂😂😂

 

[Zorori]

3G!? Who's your carrier? I live in a medium sized US city near the mountains and I only ever see LTE. It may be 4G here and there in the the mountains but NEVER 3G.

Those ”We don't need 5G I only get 3G” comments have been in every thread. They've happened everytime phones move to the next network standard.

In Japan, I get 4G everywhere: in the subway, up mountains, even in remote Ishigaki.

 

[iOSBry]

Atleast we're not getting that ugly mmwave antenna cutout and possible structural weakpoint of the phone
mmwave support isn't coming here so I'm glad they left it out.


US model:

International model:

Aren’t you going to attenuate the signal by holding the phone with your right hand and covering the mmWave antenna???

This has the makings of, “you’re holding it wrong” all over again.

iOSBry

 

[rjjacobson]

The only reason I'm getting a new iPhone this year is the Qualcomm modem. Reception and speeds on regular 4G or LTE will be far better than the Intel modem in the 11 Pro I currently have.

I have wondered about that but of course no info or tests on how it behaves yet in relation to our intel modems. I have the upgrade program so not much change in monthly payment but 5G not anywhere near me, and my 11 pro Max is very similar in specs (looking like specs on 12 pro, and the 12 pro max in most areas) so not sure yet

 

[FishyFish]

You can easily validate that the weird "SIM card" looking thing under the power button thing is an mmWave antenna.

Visit any other Apple Store other than United States, and all of the product shots are just pure stainless steel straight down from the power button.

Only the United States variant has that weird blemish.

 

[Mydel]

Comparing the US and European models you'll notice that the US includes all the same frequencies as the European one + additional ones. It's not a matter of Apple optimising based on regions because they can't support all frequencies at once. It's basically a matter of cutting cost trying to skip support frequencies in regions where they are otherwise not needed.

I find it rather stupid for such a premium device. But it is what it is I guess. At least they support 700MHz which will be the major frequency here in Norway.

Correct me if Im wrong but in Norway 5G is practically non-existent. And it won't be for years to come. They claiming 2023

 

[dhruveonmars]

Comparing the US and European models you'll notice that the US includes all the same frequencies as the European one + additional ones. It's not a matter of Apple optimising based on regions because they can't support all frequencies at once. It's basically a matter of cutting cost trying to skip support frequencies in regions where they are otherwise not needed.

I find it rather stupid for such a premium device. But it is what it is I guess. At least they support 700MHz which will be the major frequency here in Norway.

Didn't they do the same with the initial launch of 3G or 4G? And then in the US you had to pick either a Verizon or AT&T version?

 

[dhruveonmars]

Yeah. I am on an 02 sim only plan and 02 don’t separate 5g from 4g on their plans anymore.

Yup, I thought they didn't. I'm glad I swapped back to O2. But yeah, you still need to be in areas that have 5G rolled out, which I guess will take some time to roll out throughout London and other big cities, and then the entire country.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Did everyone in the world see the same keynote that I saw in the US today?

If so... what is the worldwide reaction to the 4 minutes with the Verizon guy?

I mean... I understand that Apple is a US company... and Verizon is the largest(?) carrier in the US... and mmWave is only available in the US...

But it must have been weird for a worldwide audience to see Apple devote a portion of their keynote to talk about a carrier and features that are simply unavailable anywhere else on the planet.

 

[tgi]

Does mmWave matter for any non Verizon customers?

 

[Sam in SoCal]

So this goes for both the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro models? No biggie as mmWave won't make it to where I leave in Norway for at least 2 years+ and even if/when it does it seems like a technology not really meant for phones. The fact that you pretty much need line-of-sight between the transceiver and receiver makes it look technology that is supposed to be used for high throughput point-to-point connections and not cellular phones that you keep moving all over the place.

Regardless I find it really stupid for Apple to make yet another thing "US-only". So many of Apple latest releases seem to be US-first making me feel like a lesser customer and user for not living in the US. Not to mention how mmWave is supposed to make production cost noticeably higher. So this basically means that Apple non-US customers are pretty much paying more for less when purchasing the iPhone 12 or 12 Pro.

MURICA!!!!! We number 1!! Muhahahahahahahahahaha
[automerge]1602632648[/automerge]

There is still a notch on this thing?!!! Pass!

The notch is a distinguishing design tipping people off that you’re using an iPhone. We need a notch, and it’s better than a crotch

 

[HQuest]

You'd probably be better of with a WiFi 6 router in your house and a fast internet connection anyway.

Already on it, but from someone working on private 5G networks for business, I would not mind having somewhere else to play while I’m not going to the offices (thanks Human Malware...)

 

[mudguts]

Because outside of the U.S., mmWave deployment is virtually non-existent. It doesn't make sense to deploy mmW unless there are practical limitations preventing Sub-6 or mid-band deployments.

Nonsense. Telstra in Australia are already doing a mmWave 5G rollout.

 

[jdawgnoonan]

Maybe, big maybe, 5G will start to matter by this time next year.

 

[JPack]

Nonsense. Telstra in Australia are already doing a mmWave 5G rollout.

Maybe you’ve been fooled by the marketing. Auctioning of the 26GHz mmWave frequency in Australia won’t even happen until March 2021.

 

[Analog Kid]

So instead of 4Gbps in ideal conditions it’ll only do 3.5Gbps in ideal conditions except it is only 1Gbps in typical conditions so basically it just doesn’t matter. mmWave was a checkbox item.

 

[ErikGrim]

For once I am happy that this is a US only feature. For extremely limited use, you get an ugly window on the side of your phone. Thanks, but no thanks.

 

[MDF314159265]

My AT&T service has indicated that I’ve had 5G all along! No need for me to upgrade if I’ve already got the fifth G!

 

[quietstormSD]

iPhone 12 is the MAGAiPhone! Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

 

[Le0M]

The only thing I complain about the iPhone outside the US not having mmWave is that the price didn’t get lower for those countries. So basically we are paying the same for less.

 

[klunernet]

First world problems: looking at the Verizon 5G mmWave coverage map, and realizing their coverage ends just one block before my house. #fml

you would not be able to use it inside the house anyway. High Frequencies like that don’t penetrate walls and windows very well. (Specially if you have HR++ window panes). It’s why you will so all your neighbors 2.4Ghz WiFI, but not the 5GHz equivalent. (Specially en your walls are rebar concrete like here)

 

[klunernet]

Did everyone in the world see the same keynote that I saw in the US today?

If so... what is the worldwide reaction to the 4 minutes with the Verizon guy?

I mean... I understand that Apple is a US company... and Verizon is the largest(?) carrier in the US... and mmWave is only available in the US...

But it must have been weird for a worldwide audience to see Apple devote a portion of their keynote to talk about a carrier and features that are simply unavailable anywhere else on the planet.

we don’t care. we will get the same thing eventually, if the frequencies are permitted and auctioned. Or not, and it will not be a great loss anyway.

 

[Jmausmuc]

I think it would be more accurate to say it is "available on 55 city blocks across the country."




Here's a good description of Verizon's non-mmWave nationwide 5G done by PC Magazine which detected it being tested in Chicago:

Verizon 'Nationwide' 5G Begins to Appear Ahead of iPhone 12 Launch

Verizon is filling in the gaps in its 5G network by borrowing 4G airwaves, as we may have just seen in Chicago.

www.pcmag.com

Basically, they're taking the 850Mhz band that is used for 4G service and turning it over to 5G service using the DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing) feature in 5G phones. It's the same thing that AT&T has done to create their 5G network. Of course, like the AT&T 5G network, the Verizon 5G DSS speed is slower than Verizon's 4G LTE:

But hey, the 5G icon lights up on your phone so it's worth it!

How is it possible for 5G to be slower than 4G?
I think regular (non mm-wave) 5G is basically the same as 4G... are there any benefits to it?

this graphic is very disappointing.