Is your head spinning with iPhone 5 rumors? Would it be a huge relief if the Apple smartphone was announced already? If iPhone 5 rumors weren’t enough to induce nausea, try rumors of another future Apple smartphone – one with LTE capabilities. It is certainly inevitable, but it seems as though Steve Jobs & Co. is already testing an iPhone model that will be compatible with global LTE 4G networks.
BGR uncovered the info from carrier testing documents:
BGR has obtained evidence of an internal iOS test build from one of Apple’s major carrier partners, and buried in the firmware is a property list (.plist file) for LTE. This doesn’t necessarily mean every Apple device that’s about to be released will feature an embedded 4G LTE modem, but it certainly means Apple isn’t sitting on the sidelines as 4G LTE networks continue to roll out around the world. Plus, when Apple finally does make a 4G LTE device, the battery might actually last longer than a few hours.
We all expect Apple to launch a smartphone with 4G LTE capabilities, but we’re not exactly sure when that will happen. It’s hard to say whether the iPhone 5 will be LTE-capable, but it’s doubtful. However, the fact that Apple is already testing a 4G smartphone means that we might see one next summer. It is a long way from now, but we’ve come to learn that when Apple isn’t a first-mover in terms of applying or adopting specific technologies, it takes its time to make sure that its first iteration is nearly perfect. The implication here is that if we don’t see an LTE iPhone soon, we might be getting one with reasonable battery life–the main issue in LTE smartphones–when it is finally launched.
[Via: BGR]