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Very interesting. My son’s GS8 is already getting the indicator whereas my newer X cannot. I can already see a proper 5G iPhone being at least 2 years away...
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Why? This helps Apple just as much to give their 2018 phone designs more relevance and reason to buy.

Apparently on Twitter, people are seeing it on XRs, too (I just did a search for XR 5G E and XR 5GE): https://twitter.com/search?q=iphone xr 5ge&src=typd

As the XR has 2x2 MIMO, is anyone seeing this on the X or 8/8 Plus, too (they're 2x2 MIMO)? While the whole marketing/branding that AT&T is doing is nonsense, I think this muddies the waters even more where the "line" is.
 
Apparently on Twitter, people are seeing it on XRs, too (I just did a search for XR 5G E and XR 5GE): https://twitter.com/search?q=iphone xr 5ge&src=typd

As the XR has 2x2 MIMO, is anyone seeing this on the X or 8/8 Plus, too (they're 2x2 MIMO)? While the whole marketing/branding that AT&T is doing is nonsense, I think this muddies the waters even more where the "line" is.
I noticed my 8 Plus started showing 5GE some time last week.
 
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Bamboozlers.

I'm still waiting for LTE-LAA to be launched in Las Vegas. Does anyone who has LTE-LAA coverage get actual triple-digit speeds? I'm in a "5G E" market and I just got 70.7 Mbps which is the fastest I've ever seen myself. I was going to slam their speeds until I just tested it and now I guess I can't really complain too much. Lol


I looked at AT&T's 5G Plans and they aren't planning to light up vegas with LTE-LAA. They are starting us with 5Ge and then planning a real 5G launch for late this year
 
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I looked at AT&T's 5G Plans and they aren't planning to light up vegas with LTE-LAA. They are starting us with 5Ge and then planning a real 5G launch for late this year
I didn't notice any difference in service when the stupid "5Ge" logo showed up on my phone while I was in D.C.
It was actually slower.
 



Some AT&T users who have installed the new iOS 12.2 beta are noticing their iPhones displaying a '5G E' connection to AT&T's network, which is AT&T's misleading name for an "upgraded" version of 4G LTE.

AT&T began rolling out its fake 5G icon to Android smartphones in early January, and it now appears the change is extending to the iPhone.

5giconattios122-800x209.jpg

Image via the MacRumors forums
Devices in certain areas are displaying a "5G E" icon instead of LTE, but as the "E" suggests, this is not real 5G. No iPhone that exists right now is capable of connecting to a 5G network, nor is AT&T's network 5G at this time.

The "E" stands for Evolution, a new brand name AT&T is using for some parts of its LTE network. According to AT&T, 5G Evolution reaches a peak theoretical wireless speed of 400Mb/s, which does not match 5G data transfer speeds and is in fact the same as traditional LTE speeds.

AT&T claims that 5G Evolution is the "first step on the road to 5G," bringing improvements to already-existing LTE networks. Technically, 5G Evolution uses technologies already employed by other carriers.According to AT&T, its "5G Evolution" network is live in more than 400 markets, with more to come. Other carriers, such as T-Mobile, have made fun of AT&T for its misleading branding.


True 5G smartphones won't be coming until later in 2019, and rumors suggest Apple will not introduce 5G support until 2020 at the earliest.

Update: AT&T has provided the following statement to MacRumors on the new icon in iOS 12.2 beta 2: "Today, some iPhone and iPad users could start seeing our 5G Evolution indicator on their devices. The indicator simply helps customers know when they are in an area where the 5G Evolution experience may be available."

Article Link: Some AT&T iPhones Displaying Misleading '5GE' Icon in iOS 12.2 Beta 2 [Updated]
Who cares about something so simple if we all know its not true.. Most phones don't have the hardware for 5g so no duh it's not gonna be 5g.. They can put the poop emoji there instead and I can careless...Instead this is turning into an old argument of which phone company is better.. Smh..
 
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