Back in December, AT&T started rolling out "5G E" branding to some of the phones on its network. 5G E, as AT&T claims, stands for "5G Evolution," or the precursor to the nationwide 5G networks carriers are beginning to build out. There's just one problem: AT&T doesn't offer phones that support 5G yet, and what it brands as "5G E" is actually just 4G LTE Advanced.
Today the folks at AT&T revealed a new update for iPhones in the form of the latest update to iOS. This device update came to those users that opted to allow the download - if they were part of the Beta program, that is to say. The iOS 12.2 beta was released to iPhones inside the United States earlier this afternoon.
In the last several years, AT&T has made two huge acquisitions: DirecTV in 2015, and Time Warner in 2018. With these mergers — which were clearly anti-consumer — AT&T thought it turn itself from a telecom giant into a cable TV giant, with a near monopoly on the US's media industry. But instead of just buying itself an undeniable advantage, the company has given customers more reason to leave by attempting to cover its immense debt with price increases.
5G is the buzzword of 2019, especially among carriers, who can be pretty aggressive when it comes to marketing. Case in point is AT&T, which is getting a lot of flak for its “5G E” label on certain smartphones. Other carriers have, unsurprisingly, called foul over AT&T’s misleading marketing (which may actually have to do with the fact that it had blindsided them). But, of course, AT&T is sticking to its guns (unless forced by some regulatory body) and is defending its move as something that makes absolutely perfect sense, even when it might not.
Yesterday, AT&T began rolling out an update to some Android phones that replaced the "LTE" icon users typically see with a new icon that shows "5G E." The problem, of course, is that customers aren't really tapping into AT&T's 5G network - instead, they're simply getting a 4G LTE connection that has been bolstered by things like 4x4 MIMO, three-way carrier aggregation, and 256 QAM.
AT&T's 5G network may have gone live in a handful of locations, but don't be fooled if you see a 5G icon on your Samsung or LG smartphone: you don't actually have true 5G. The carrier has begun updating a handful of Android smartphones with its fairly misleading "5G E" symbol, which AT&T insists is a perfectly reasonable indicator that you're in "5G Evolution" coverage.
Perhaps 2019 will be the year of the Airpower but until Apple finally launches its long-promised wireless charger, others will try to make their own version of it. And some will do a terrible job at it, depending on your aesthetic tastes. Take, for example, this AT&T “Power Drum” that just came out of the blue. Fortunately, it’s not really a big drum but its odd canister shape is designed to not only wirelessly charge an iPhone on top but also an Apple Watch wrapped around it.
AT&T may only have a handful of places where you'll be able to access 5G in 2019, but that isn't going to prevent the carrier from showing a 5G status icon on phones, it has confirmed. True 5G service is expected to kick off commercially in twelve cities across the US from today, AT&T said earlier this month, but users outside of those locations may still think they're getting fifth-generation connectivity.
AT&T has a launch date for its 5G network in the US, as well as confirming just how much the first 5G devices will cost - and how much you'll have to pay for data. The carrier is one of several currently locked into a race to light up 5G networks, promising significantly faster data speeds as well as a cut in latency and other improvements.
Apple’s support for dual SIM, dual standby (DSDS) on this year’s iPhone generation was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it finally gave what some iPhone owners have been requesting for years. On the other than, its implementation is based on a normal, physical SIM and a digital eSIM. The latter requires carriers to support the feature and as of yesterday, only AT&T does in the US. That, however, is changing soon with both Verizon and T-Mobile following not far behind.
Apple giveth and Apple taketh away. Fortunately, Apple can also giveth back. iOS 12 brought a lot of new features but it also brought a few headaches for regular FaceTime users. No, this isn’t about Group FaceTime, which finally launched with iOS 12.1. Follow that update, this minor iOS 12.1.1 update also fixes what has become a major annoyance in Apple’s FaceTime revamp: switching between front and rear cameras with a single tap.
Hulu is gearing up to test advertisements that play when the viewer pauses a video, a new report claims. The idea reportedly is being explored by both AT&T and Hulu, the latter of which is said to be prepping the change for a 2019 launch. Hulu already shows advertisements to customers who subscribe to the cheaper monthly plan, but the new alleged test may change when customers see them.