This week we learned that AT&T and Verizon have installed LTE equipment in Apple stores that is most likely being tested to see how LTE iDevices work with this technology being implemented in the US. Those from BGR also published information during this week indicating that inside the iOS system files there are entries denoting the fact that Apple already has LTE iDevices sent to engineers who are testing them in the field. Those from macrumours I come today with the same information, but I say that the implementation of LTE technology will not be limited only to iPhone terminals but also to iPad tablets and now there are iPad 2 tablets compatible with this telecommunications standard.
We've since discovered the same LTE plist file in at least the last couple of developer builds of iOS 5. This LTE.plist file was found only in some of the builds (GSM iPhone 4, CDMA iPad 2, but not their counterparts) and it was related to Apple's internal "Fieldtest" application. It raises the question whether or not the "internal iOS test build" was anything special or if it just mirrored the general developer release.
The issue of implementing this standard in Apple's iDevices has never been raised, but the big question is when will Apple take the "big" step. It is unlikely that this will happen in 2012 considering that there are few LTE networks globally that cover entire countries and the launch of an LTE iPhone now would not really make sense. Tim Cook said in an interview that the implementation of LTE technology would involve certain compromises that Apple is not willing to make at the moment, so the chances of implementing this technology are small. If Apple decides to launch LTE iDevices, then the Qualcomm MDM9615 chip released in February of this year could be implemented and this will bring new barriers for developers of unlocking solutions.
Rather than LTE, a "3G+" in iDevices is better, that is, I would prefer an iPhone 5 capable of reaching speeds of up to 14.4 Mbps than an iPhone 5 compatible with an LTE standard that does not exist in Romania at the moment.
