LG V30 and Galaxy Note 8 could offer better signal reception, thanks to possible low-frequency support

Earlier this year, T-Mobile quadrupled its low-frequency spectrum by acquiring a large portion of the 600MHz spectrum in the US. By the end of the year, the carrier is expected to have upwards of 1 million square miles of coverage in the 600MHz range.

Lower frequency signals, such as the 600MHz one, travel farther and ‘deeper’ than, say, higher frequencies, such as the 2.5GHz band that Sprint widely utilizes. Higher frequency signals are usually the reason to experience connection issues inside of buildings and complete absence of signal when you are in the subway, for example. The 600MHz band, on the other hand, provides lower-frequency waves that are capable of penetrating walls and windows, and travelling longer distances than higher-frequency waves.

The thing is that we don’t really have smartphones that can receive the lower signal, not even the most expensive of flagships. But back in March, T-Mo’s CTO Neville Ray asserted that Samsung will deliver a 600MHz-enabled smartphone before the end of this year, but gave no other detail. Today we have received yet another confirmation from him, coming through a Twitter post once again, saying that both Samsung and LG will launch such devices this year. It’s time to put on our detective caps!

Also happy to announce that @TMobile customers will be able to take advantage of 600 MHz with devices THIS YEAR from 2 OEMs - Samsung & LG!

— Neville (@NevilleRay) July 17, 2017

Now, we are no Sherlock Holmes, but it seems kind of clear what Ray may be on about. Earlier this year, Qualcomm announced that it would be adding 600MHz support to its Snapdragon 835 and 836 chips, both of which have been rumoured as possible silicon in the upcoming Galaxy Note 8. LG is also due to show off the V30 handset in Berlin next month, while the phone is also expected to come with the Snapdragon 835 inside. The Snapdragon 835 chips that are currently in devices, such as the Galaxy S8 or the OnePlus 5, do not offer 600MHz support, but future reiterations of the chips might do. So two and two makes four, right?

Ray has accentuated with capital letters that the 600MHz LG and Samsung phones will launch in the current year, which also makes us feel that the math above is correct, as both devices are set to make an appearance in the following months. The release date for Note 8 is really not clear this year, but we know for sure that we will be seeing the LG V30 on the 31st of August, so we reckon that’s when our wondering will be put to rest. Either way, we should expect to see more 600MHz-enabled smartphones in the future, and we are curious as to whether Apple might be prepping such a device for its anniversary lineup this autumn. But we definitely will need to call Sherlock up for this one!

via 9To5Google