A very advantageous advantage of having an iPhone 12 on Verizon is the 5G service of the wireless carrier. Apple Paul also brought CEO Hans Westberg to speak at 5G at its October iPhone 12 launch. But the current 5G performance on Verizon’s network may disappoint those who buy an iPhone 12 – or any type of 5G device for use on Verizon’s nationwide network.
As tested by PC Magazine, Verizon customers want to turn off their 5G signal and stick to 4G LTE instead, as the more established standard may be faster than 5G in certain areas.
The main advantage of Verizon’s 5G network is its millimeter-wave “Ultra Wideband” (UWB) signal, which is more capable than the sub-65G services offered by other carriers. But Verizon’s MMWay-based network is limited to about 60 U.S. cities and select arenas and stadiums. That’s because MM wave signals are as fast as they can be – and when they’re downloading data they can reach a peak of 1 Gbps – they don’t travel much and they can be blocked by physical barriers like buildings.
To create its 5G coverage, Verizon is relocating parts of its LTE / 4G spectrum for use as 5G using a technology called Dynamic Spectrum Sharing. In this way Verizon was able to launch its nationwide network with the launch of the iPhone 12. That part of Verizon 5G is now available in the US. Reaches 230 million people in the surrounding 2,700 cities
It’s also part of Verizon’s 5G coverage that PC Mage saluted the flag in its testing. During the iPhone 12 Pro speed test in New York, the release revealed that the DSS 5G network is usually slower than 4G.
Either problem is not limited to iPhones, as the site has also tested OnePlus 8 on DSS 5G and Galaxy S20 FE on regular 4G. Those tests showed the same thing: it offered 4GA fast download overall download. Since the site has 26-city speed tests, the problem is not limited to Verizon Also found AT&T’s “lobeband” 5G was slower than its 4G network.
It is worth noting that Verizon’s UWB 5G is not affected. PCMag reached eight locations from the iPhone 12 Pro to test its speed, and only the first seven were DSS 5G, which was slower than 4G and suffered more delays. The eighth, which UWB 5G offers, was significantly faster than both.
“For most customers, the performance on our 5G nationwide network will be similar to 4G. [DSS] There is new technology and we keep changing it as we go. We expect performance to improve in 2021 and beyond, ”said a Verizon spokesperson.
As for what it costs, T-Mobile ran into a similar problem a year ago when it launched its own nationwide network on Low Spectrum 5G. At the time, speeds were slightly faster than LTE, although in some places, there was no difference in performance. T-Mobile has accelerated its 5G speeds over the past year, primarily using the mid-band spectrum it acquired in its merger with Sprint.
That’s a bit of a relief to Verizon customers, who will probably see the improvement down the road, but don’t have to take any admirable advantage at the moment, unless they spend all their time in Verizon’s MMWay based UWB 5G area. That’s at the point where iPhone 12 users on Verizon might consider switching to 5G in the phone’s settings and sticking to 4G. It can save battery life, as your phone does not constantly default to the 5G signal where available.
Our battery tests on the iPhone show an advantage in battery life when you turn off the 5G. The iPhone 12 lasted only 8 hours 25 minutes on 5G in our battery test, while it lasted 10 hours 23 minutes with 4G. The iPhone 12 Pro went a little better on the 5G with 9 hours and 6 minutes, but its 4G performance was still significantly better and lasted for 11 hours and 24 minutes.
