- Next-generation of iPhone will be iPhone 4S not iPhone 5
- No LTE capability (Long-Term Evolution: the latest standard in the mobile network technology tree)
- Its production will start by August.
What is the importance of LTE for me at least – What I wrote last year:
I have no desire to sign a two-year contract and restrict myself to 3G.
I don’t need LTE coverage today, but want the option when 4G fires up for smartphones.
The other wild-card here is I want an LTE phone that can act as a hotspot for my laptop. Bonus if I can carry a second battery since LTE will burn through a lot of juice.
I’d want to hear that the Verizon iPhone is LTE ready. And since Verizon’s network is so swell you can tether or use it as a Mi-Fi for an extra charge.
The chances of me hearing those items are slim and none. If Apple had an LTE capable iPhone it would be holding its own event.
Now this calculus will be irrelevant for most folks—there is so much pent-up demand for a Verizon iPhone that Apple will move millions of devices in the first quarter alone. My hang-up is that I have been holding out for LTE speeds. If the Verizon iPhone only does CDMA as expected, then my decision matrix goes like this:
Wait for iPhone 5 and see if there’s LTE.
Why iPhone 4S won’t have LTE:
Initially, iPhone 4S was planned to be LTE capable, but due to problems that faced Qualcomm recently in producing the chips in large enough quantities for iPhone.
Instead, LTE capability will likely make its way into the following (sixth generation) iPhone in 2012. A number of carriers, including three top Chinese telecommunication companies will be disappointed after expressing interest in selling an LTE capable iPhone. Despite this, China Mobile, which will have 27 million users by the end of this year, is expected to reach an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone 4S when it is expected to launch in September this year.
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