iPhones are displaying fake ‘5G E’ indicators: Why it matters

We knew it was coming. Users with beta versions of iOS 12.2 are reporting that their iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR phones are now displaying AT&T’s “5G E” indicator. But these devices have not been upgraded to 5G.

“5G E” is a lie: it’s a form of 4G known as gigabit LTE, which is not understood to be 5G by anyone other than AT&T’s marketing department. The lie, however, is working. It recently appeared on some AT&T Android phones, and we now have people on the AT&T user forums complaining about the “update to access the new 5G network.” Mark my words, by June, millions of AT&T subscribers will both think they have 5G and wonder why it’s so disappointing.

And here’s an even bigger lie: according to 9to5Mac, the indicator is appearing on the iPhone XR, which doesn’t even support gigabit LTE! I dearly, dearly hope that 9to5 is wrong here, because at that point even AT&T’s claim that 5G E equals gigabit LTE is hollow.

The real problem with “5G E,” other than lying (what is truth?), is that it lowers expectations for 5G to the point where it could slow down the development of new applications. AT&T’s argument for gigabit LTE being “5G Evolution” rests on peak download speeds and the fact that eventual 5G networks will combine with and hand off to older 4G networks. But the really transformative aspects of 5G will come with radically greater capacity, higher download floors (not ceilings), lower latency, and deeply geeky things like network slicing and bigger address spaces. Gigabit LTE as it’s being implemented now in the US has none of that.

That said, the actual 5G NR that AT&T is currently installing appears to have none of that either. As I wrote previously, AT&T installed an extremely early version of 5Gto make its December 2018 marketing deadline, and it’s gone dead silent about its performance. I’m hearing that it’s no better than 4G, and in many aspects worse. This will change later in 2019, as we get better 5G base station firmware.

We’ve seen this before, as others have said. In 2010, T-Mobile decided to declare HSPA+ 21, a 3G technology, as “4G” because it was faster than the LTE of the time and it wanted a marketing advantage. AT&T followed in 2011 by declaring HSPA 14.4, which really isn’t 4G, as 4G. The ITU, the global standards body, rolled over and gave up.

Everything is lies. Your friends are bots. Words are empty. It’s hard for me to write this column because it doesn’t matter. AT&T is aiming at the low-information voters of the cell-phone world. They don’t read what I write. AT&T will not be stopped or punished; its handwavery around “evolution” is probably just enough to keep the FTC off its back. Instead, everything is just going to get very muddy.

This Helps Apple, Too

So you may wonder, why doesn’t Apple stand up against this obvious lying? There are two big, interlocking reasons. First, it’s pretty clear that the 5G E indicator is now in AT&T’s spec book: if you want to be sold in AT&T stores, you need to fall in line.

Apple has a lot of market power, and could probably make a stink and stand up for itself. But does it want to spend that relationship capital on this?

No, it doesn’t, because this helps Apple, too. Apple will be a year behind Android phones when it comes to real 5G. This is a conscious choice on Apple’s part; the company doesn’t like to roll out new network technologies before they’re widespread. But that means that throughout 2019 and most of 2020, there will be a perception gap where Android manufacturers get to advertise 5G and Apple does not. We did a survey that showed Americans think Apple leads all other manufacturers on 5G. Cupertino wants to keep that momentum going.

5G E evens the playing field. Now Apple is “leading in 5G,” the way most Americans incorrectly think it is. AT&T gets to say it has the “only 5G iPhone.” Samsung and LG will have to fight uphill with their real, expensive, limited-coverage 5G phones while AT&T customers with all kinds of phones just see 5G magically appear.

AT&T and Apple both win with these 5G lies. Everyone else loses, including you.

This article originally published at PCMag
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