iPhone 8 Plus: Intel or Qualcomm

[tai4de2]

GSM only versions are only sold at ATT and T-Mobile stores, everything sold directly by Apple and Sprint/Verizon stores is all carrier version.

That isn't correct. This morning at an Apple store I held in my hands simultaneously a T-Mobile and a Sprint iPhone 8. The verbiage on the back of the box for the Sprint one specifically mentions "CDMA" in the list of the supported technology. That term is missing from the T-Mobile one.

 

[Sherry_B]

everything sold directly by Apple and Sprint/Verizon stores is all carrier version.

That's not true. All of my phones have been unlocked and purchased from Apple stores in my area.

 

[ItnStln]

That's not true. All of my phones have been unlocked and purchased from Apple stores in my area.

You can get the unlocked and carrier locked models from apple

 

[Sherry_B]

You can get the unlocked and carrier locked models from apple

Carrier locked models weren't in question.

 

[ItnStln]

Carrier locked models weren't in question.

My apologies I must have misread the post

 

[Lee_Bo]

If you're on Tmobile (as I am) I don't think it will matter too much. The 8 won't be compatible with the 600mhz band (if it ever launches in my area) so reception inside a building will still be horrible.

 

[SquireSCA]

Yeah, many reports out now that the Intel modems are not as good. Also, Apple crippled some of the advanced features of the Qualcomm chips, like some of the new emerging gigabit wireless bands, so that all of their phones would be "as fast" as each other, and not appear to favor one carrier over the other...

 

[SquireSCA]

https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/apples-new-iphones-cellular-performance-potential-analyzed/

 

[ItnStln]

Yeah, many reports out now that the Intel modems are not as good. Also, Apple crippled some of the advanced features of the Qualcomm chips, like some of the new emerging gigabit wireless bands, so that all of their phones would be "as fast" as each other, and not appear to favor one carrier over the other...

https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/apples-new-iphones-cellular-performance-potential-analyzed/

Thanks! Sadly it seems I'll end up with the Intel version because I have an upgrade through at&t that I need to use. Next year I won't have an upgrade so I'll make a point to get the Qualcomm version.

 

[SquireSCA]

Thanks! Sadly it seems I'll end up with the Intel version because I have an upgrade through at&t that I need to use. Next year I won't have an upgrade so I'll make a point to get the Qualcomm version.

My wife did as well, as she wanted to use her upgrade and trade in her old phone to defer some of the cost... I just got a VZW edition from the Apple store and popped my ATT sim in it... That way if I have to roam into an area that only has CDMA coverage, I am good to go.

 

[ItnStln]

My wife did as well, as she wanted to use her upgrade and trade in her old phone to defer some of the cost... I just got a VZW edition from the Apple store and popped my ATT sim in it... That way if I have to roam into an area that only has CDMA coverage, I am good to go.

If I wasn't on a business account with a 2 year upgrade I'd do the same thing you did. That's what I've done in the past when I haven't had an upgrade, and that's what I'll do next year.

 

[Raptor007]

Honestly the speeds are based more on the towers and carrier than the modem chip. I was on AT&T, switched to Verizon for 3 months and gladly went back to AT&T. The speeds were double on AT&T than Verizon and that was with an SIM Free 7Plus and my wife's SIM Free 6S plus.

 

[TechBob]

Honestly the speeds are based more on the towers and carrier than the modem chip. I was on AT&T, switched to Verizon for 3 months and gladly went back to AT&T. The speeds were double on AT&T than Verizon and that was with an SIM Free 7Plus and my wife's SIM Free 6S plus.

That is all very true which is why the chip is so important. I am on T-Mobile and live in an area where the towers are saturated. There are days when I get 1 megabit in download speeds. In the early morning I can hit 30 or 40. Across town there is a spot where on my 7 Plus I can hit 50+. But on an LG V30 with a gigabit modem chip in the same spot I can hit over 100. My Qualcomm equipped 8 Plus just arrived and I am hoping that I will see faster speeds than my 7 Plus. It will be a few days before I test.

The important point is that towers are a limiting factor. The carriers know that. They are employing new technologies to alleviate that congestion but you have to have a phone equipped with those capabilities. I will not see gigabit speeds in my neighborhood on any phone, but if I am ever going to get decent speeds, it won't be on the current crop of Intel chips. If Apple wasn't in a fight with Qualcomm we would have support for gigabit speeds now and on T-Mobile support for 600 Mhz like I do at this moment on my V30. If T-Mobile upgrades my towers, likely my V30 will see it before my 7 Plus. I am hoping that at least some of that benefit will come on the Qualcomm 8 Plus. At someone said. 4x4 MIMO antennas are not installed. Features like 256QAM are supported on the Qualcomm chip but may not be enabled. Time and testing will tell.