Apple Testing LTE in iOS 5 and Hiring More LTE Engineers
Early last week, Boy Genius Report claimed that Apple has been testing a 4G LTE-enabled iPhone with carriers, and pointed to an “internal iOS test build” of one of Apple's major mobile partners. In that build was a property list file (.plist) for LTE.
Context & Ripple Effects
This report slots into a well-established rumor arc rather than standing alone. Back in May 2011, MacRumors reported that an LTE-enabled iPhone was expected in 2012 while a non-LTE iPhone 4S was being prepped for September, and BGR had already flagged Verizon hardware heading into field testing as far back as August 2010. In July, iSuppli's teardown of the HTC ThunderBolt mapped out which LTE components an Apple device would need, and BGR reported AT&T preparing for an early-to-mid-September iPhone 5 launch.
What is new here is twofold: BGR's claim — still unconfirmed — that an internal iOS test build at one of Apple's carrier partners contains an LTE plist file, suggesting active carrier-side testing of an LTE iPhone; and the confirmed fact that Apple keeps adding LTE engineers, which corroborates sustained internal investment regardless of whether the plist leak is genuine.
First-order effects
- Apple's continued LTE engineering hires confirm the company is staffing for LTE integration now, even as its own September launch window — per AT&T's preparations — points to a 3G iPhone 5 first.
- Carrier partners like AT&T and Verizon gain early visibility into an LTE-capable iPhone through test builds, letting them plan network and marketing readiness ahead of any official announcement.
Second-order effects
- If the LTE iPhone lands in 2012 as prior reporting indicated, component suppliers along the ThunderBolt-style LTE bill of materials iSuppli outlined become candidates for high-volume Apple orders, reshaping allocation across the handset supply chain.
- Android handset makers currently shipping LTE devices — HTC among them via the ThunderBolt — would face an Apple entrant into 4G just as carriers begin steering subsidies toward LTE lineups.
Third-order effects
- A deliberate, late-but-at-scale Apple entry into LTE would reinforce a pattern where the company adopts new radio technology only after modem power draw and carrier coverage mature, pressuring the industry to treat LTE readiness as a baseline rather than a differentiator.
- Carrier-side testing of unreleased Apple builds, as described in the rumor, hints at deeper operator involvement in iPhone development cycles — a structural shift in how Apple coordinates launches with network partners.
The trend: Smartphone makers are timing their LTE transitions around modem maturity and carrier readiness, with Apple moving deliberately behind early Android movers rather than first.