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iPhone 15: mmWave 5G Remains Limited to U.S. Models

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Apple's cellular band page confirms that only U.S. models of the new iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max support mmWave 5G bands, as has been the case since the iPhone 12 series was released in 2020.

Apple-iPhone-15-Pro-lineup-Action-button-230912.jpg

mmWave is a set of 5G frequencies that promise ultra-fast speeds at short distances, which is ideal for dense urban areas. By comparison, sub-6GHz 5G is generally slower than mmWave, but the signals travel further, better serving suburban and rural areas. All four iPhone 15 models support sub-6GHz 5G outside of the U.S., and sub-6GHz networks are still more common than mmWave networks in countries that have rolled out 5G.

Australia, China, Japan, and Singapore are some of the countries outside of the U.S. that have deployed mmWave networks so far.

Apple announced the iPhone 15 series on Tuesday during its "Wonderlust" event. All four new models are equipped with a USB-C port and the Dynamic Island, while the Pro models have many additional features, including the A17 Pro chip, a lightweight titanium frame, a customizable Action button, 5x optical zoom on the Pro Max model, Wi-Fi 6E support, an increased 8GB of RAM, and more. The devices are available to pre-order starting this Friday at 5 a.m. Pacific Time, and will be released on Friday, September 22.

Article Link: iPhone 15: mmWave 5G Remains Limited to U.S. Models
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/09/13/mmwave-5g-iphone-15-us-only/
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GMShadow

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kiranmk2 said:
It made sense when these mmWave networks had not rolled out (and likely not yet licensed), but when other countries have started their rollouts (and presumably devices are allowed that use that band) it seems strange not to sell into those markets.
Click to expand...

I would imagine most of the rollouts are on paper, and not substantial enough to merit support in the phones yet.
 
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IIGS User

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MM wave in the US was pretty much a mistake. Wireless carriers didn’t see the C band coming as soon as it did.

Now there’s legacy infrastructure related to MM wave in certain densely populated areas that will require years of support to realize. ROI before they’re phased out.

MM wave is an odd branch on the wireless family tree that will die out.
 
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jaworq

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it remains to U.S. Models only because E.g. Europe does not even use 5g mmWave bands. So... **** macrumors xD
 
Sorinut

Sorinut

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Feb 26, 2015
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IIGS User said:
MM wave in the US was pretty much a mistake. Wireless carriers didn’t see the C band coming as soon as it did.

Now there’s legacy infrastructure related to MM wave in certain densely populated areas that will require years of support to realize. ROI before they’re phased out.

MM wave is an odd branch on the wireless family tree that will die out.
Click to expand...

Despite having travelled to cites all over the US, I've yet to connect to mmwave.
 
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bartolo5

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May 11, 2008
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IIGS User said:
MM wave in the US was pretty much a mistake. Wireless carriers didn’t see the C band coming as soon as it did.

Now there’s legacy infrastructure related to MM wave in certain densely populated areas that will require years of support to realize. ROI before they’re phased out.

MM wave is an odd branch on the wireless family tree that will die out.
Click to expand...
Exactly this. MMWave is useless tech (feets of range blocked by stuff like trees) and adds a lot of burden on the devices to support it. The sooner it dies out the better.
 
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ACHD

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Jul 28, 2015
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xxray said:
I still don't think I've used mmWave in the 3 years since it's debuted on iPhones. I'm sure it's helpful in crowded events, but none of the crowded events I've been to have had it that I've noticed...
Click to expand...
normally stadiums, concerts, other perm venues will have it.

for those do have it service is usable. even Cband is brought to its knees. But with mmWave you can ensure a good experience without having to deploy additional towers.

Some do not remember or have noticed but when a game would be out they would deploy CoW's and other equipment to provide additional capacity and it still sucked.


each and every carrier did this.

Now if they have a MMwave system they do not need to do that as a good portion of phones can switch to that and the remaining normal capcity of LTE and cband can handle the rest.


I do not yet know if MMWave has a CoW system yet as thats normally LTE/5G so other venues without the infrastructure wont have it.


The maps for mmwave tend to be pretty accurate though
 
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Aston441

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Sep 16, 2014
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ACHD said:
normally stadiums, concerts, other perm venues will have it.

for those do have it service is usable. even Cband is brought to its knees. But with mmWave you can ensure a good experience without having to deploy additional towers.

Some do not remember or have noticed but when a game would be out they would deploy CoW's and other equipment to provide additional capacity and it still sucked.


each and every carrier did this.

Now if they have a MMwave system they do not need to do that as a good portion of phones can switch to that and the remaining normal capcity of LTE and cband can handle the rest.


I do not yet know if MMWave has a CoW system yet as thats normally LTE/5G so other venues without the infrastructure wont have it.


The maps for mmwave tend to be pretty accurate though
Click to expand...
I'm waiting for micron wave. Range of one milimeter, transfers the entire internet in one second.
 
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bartolo5

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May 11, 2008
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Just Jeff said:
You must not be in a mmWave city.
Click to expand...
I am in one of the main mmWave cities. I know where the cell towers are. You can snuggle up to the tower and you'll get mmWave coverage (trees permitting). do a speed test, 500mbps-1gbps.. great/fun/whatever. Walk away a bit and it's gone. Do speedtest on the lower bands 200-300mbps.. There's literally zero user experience benefit that mmwave brings. mmWave is useless and comes at a huge cost on the phone side.
 
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Kiwidevdude

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Mar 31, 2023
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It’s widely deployed in central city areas in Australia. But suburban areas it’s more limited to higher density/demand areas.

I bought the 14 pro max as I travel often to NZ and Vietnam so I’ll keep a sim tray and once esim is more widely available I’ll upgrade to a non-sim card version.

Was hoping this model would have more markets with it to push providers to offer esim. mine still does not offer it 🤦‍♂️
 
IG88

IG88

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IIGS User said:
MM wave in the US was pretty much a mistake. Wireless carriers didn’t see the C band coming as soon as it did.
Click to expand...
Can you expand on that and discuss the C-band and how / why that makes mmWave irrelevant now?
 
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deconstruct60

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Mar 10, 2009
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IIGS User said:
MM wave in the US was pretty much a mistake. Wireless carriers didn’t see the C band coming as soon as it did.

Now there’s legacy infrastructure related to MM wave in certain densely populated areas that will require years of support to realize. ROI before they’re phased out.
Click to expand...

That 'phase out' somewhat presumes that the C bands don't get saturated. If bandwidth is capped the carriers will need to spread out into new bands. mmWave will llikely were in dense areas where have a bandwidth saturation problem. ( it doesn't help covering most areas never really covered well before with non-Picocell towers. )


The carriers expansion into "All you can eat" home internet ( with long hours of streaming video , plugged into the wall computers/devices doing constant consumption. ) is a huge bandwidth black hole. Robot cars constantly sending data back to the "mothership" . New use cases popping up to soak up bandwidth. etc. etc.



IIGS User said:
MM wave is an odd branch on the wireless family tree that will die out.
Click to expand...

It isn't old. The core issue is that it is new ( few deployments , not very old ones.). The mmWave growth is somewhat inhibited though in carriers flipping sprecturm that was/is allocated to old wireless ( 2G , etc. tech. ) over to 4G. When the bandwidth pressure is relieved mmWave grows slower.
 
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