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Exclusive: 4G LTE iPhone currently in carrier testing

Published Aug 15th, 2011 10:20AM EDT
BGR

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Apple’s iPhone 5 is set to be unveiled in the next month or so, though no one quite knows what the device will feature thanks to the ongoing flood of rumors. Sure, we have a pretty good idea of what it will look like, though one technology we’ve repeatedly seen requested is LTE support for 4G networks across the globe. While we can’t confirm that the upcoming fifth-generation iPhone will be able to support 4G LTE, we can now exclusively confirm that Apple’s carrier partners are testing iPhone models with LTE capability. 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. Check out our photo gallery for images of Apple’s LTE plist file.

Jonathan S. Geller
Jonathan Geller Founder, President & Editor-in-chief

Jonathan S. Geller founded Boy Genius Report, now known as BGR, in 2006. It became the biggest mobile news destination in the world by the end of 2009, and BGR was acquired by leading digital media company PMC in April 2010.

Jonathan is President of BGR Media, LLC., and Editor-in-chief of the BGR website.

What started as a side project at the age of 16, quickly transpired into 24-hour days and nights of sharing exclusive and breaking news about the mobile communications industry. BGR now reaches up to 100 million readers a month through the website, syndication partners, and additional channels.