Apple’s iPhone12 line may not live up to all the hype that’s surrounding 5G
As it took the wraps of the 2020 versions of its iPhone on Tuesday, Apple finally could say its smartphones now work on next-generation 5G wireless networks. CEO Tim Cook et al. did so with the now-familiar claims of faster speeds enabling future applications.
But with the four new iPhone 12 devices, Apple is somewhat late to the 5G party. Analysts and reviewers — including me — have been able to test existing 5G networks and the verdict is pretty much in: Depending on the network and where you’re using it, 5G isn’t all that.
At least, not yet.
At this stage of the game, even the carriers will concede the limitations of the services when pressed, but Apple’s not going to sell bazillions of new iPhones if it says: “In most cases, users will see only an incremental increase in speed on 5G network.” Talk about unsexy!
That said, if you are looking to buy a 5G smartphone, you could do a lot worse than one of the iPhone 12s. That’s because all four models sold in the United States support all the variants of 5G. Although there’s no guarantee that they’ll support future 5G
types — more on that in a moment — Apple’s phones have that capability.
Let’s get some basics out of the way:
The iPhone 12 line gets a redesign, moving away from the look Apple’s smartphones have had since the iPhone 6. But it’s actually a back-to-thefuture style, because the phones have the flat edges and rounded corners last seen in the iPhones 4 and 5.
They come in a variety of sizes. There’s a new iPhone 12 mini, with a 5.4-inch display, which should be attractive to those who’ve not been happy with the trend toward oversized phones — it’s similar to the original (and beloved) iPhone SE. It starts at $699 if you’re buying it for use on Verizon and AT&T, and $729 for T-Mobile/Sprint.
The model called simply iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro both sport 6.1-inch displays, and they are similar in size to the design from the iPhone 6 forward. The former starts at $799 on Verizon and AT&T, $829 on T-Mobile/ Sprint. The latter starts at $999 on all carriers.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max sports a 6.7-inch display, and about the size of the iPhone 11 Pro Max. It starts at $1,099 on all carriers.
All the phones use Apple’s latest processor, the A14 Bionic. The mini and the 12 start out with 64 gigabytes of storage and max out at 256 GB. The Pros start with with 128 GB and top out at 512 GB.
As always, iPhone camera advances are a big draw, and the 12 line
doesn’t disappoint. The mini and the iPhone 12 both have dual cameras — wide and ultrawide — while the Pro phones have three: wide, ultrawide and telephoto. The 12 and the mini have a 2X optical zoom; the smaller Pro, a 4X zoom; and the Pro Max, a 5X zoom.
All four can capture video in 4K DolbyVision HDR, and the Pro models can shoot in a version of the RAW photo format, which is important to serious photographers.
But it was 5G that took star billing Tuesday, with Cook trotting out Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg to tout its superfast but hard-tofind millimeter wave version of 5G it calls Ultrawideband. Vestberg also announced the carrier was turning on “nationwide” 5G service, which is not the same as Ultrawideband.
Sascha Segan, the lead mobile analyst for PCMag and the architect of its respected annual national wireless carrier rankings, said Verizon’s 5G Ultrawi-deband “really is the most transformational 5G experience.”
“It’s the only 5G service that, for now, is a completely different experience because of its fast speeds,” Segan said in an interview. “But no one can get that experience. It’s very hard to find.”
Millimeter wave 5G can’t travel far and can’t pass through buildings or even foliage. It is primarily deployed in outdoor areas and venues where people congregate (which, of course, folks are not doing right now because of the pandemic).
But it’s getting easier to access Ultrawideband signals. Verizon’s coverage
map for Houston shows the service is now built out in some neighborhoods. I live on the border between Montrose and River Oaks, and according to the map, if I had a Verizon 5G smartphone I could walk out my front door and get speeds on that device that would rival and even surpass those from top-tier home-internet plans.
That “nationwide” announcement Verizon touted involves carving out parts of the 4G radio spectrum for use with 5G. Segan says the main goal is “to light up the 5G icon on the iPhone,” but speeds won’t be much better on that network than 4G.
Of the carriers, Segan said T-Mobile is best positioned to take advantage of the iPhone 12’s 5G capabilities.
At the moment, T-Mo
bile is the only provider that offers what is called tri-band 5G. It has millimeter wave (though only in some cities); a middle band it acquired when it merged with Sprint and is not quite as fast millimeter wave; and a lower-band known as sub-6 that’s only a little faster than 4G. The mid-band service is being integrated now, and TMobile says it will be available soon in many cities.
AT&T also has sub-6 service, as well as limited-location millimeter wave it brands as “5G+”.
What buyers of expensive smartphones want to know: How future-proof is the iPhone 12 line in terms of 5G’s evolution? Segan says that depends.
Later this year, the Federal Communications Commission will auction off new spectrum known
as C-Band. AT&T and Verizon are expected to snap this up and will use it to bridge the gap between low-band and millimeter wave services, Segan says. That will require the carriers to seek new regulatory certifications from the FCC to make it work with existing phones.
iPhone 12s can handle the C-Band frequencies, Segan says, but whether that happens depends on each carrier’s motivation. If they do not seek certifications, then the iPhone 12 you buy now may be stuck in the past when newer services are rolled out.
If 5G is important to you, consider carefully when you decide whether to take Apple up on its latest iPhones.