U.S. iPhone 16 models are arguably faster and safer than those sold in other countries
Apple iPhone 16 users in the U.S. don't know how good they have it. The units shipped in the States are the only ones that support the fastest 5G mmWave signals and feature eSIM-only technology. Finding 5G mmWave service is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are three bands of 5G service starting with the low band 5G that travels great distances but is not as fast as the other bands. Because these signals do travel far, they are often used for nationwide 5G service.
5G mmWave signals can travel only short distances but they deliver the fastest wireless speeds reaching 1Gbps and can potentially peak at 3Gbps. However, due to mmWave's inability to cover large chunks of ground, the use of the technology is usually limited to major cities like New York even though mmWave signals often cannot penetrate buildings. This leaves mid-band 5G as the Goldilocks of wireless right now as this service travels farther than mmWave and is faster than low-band.
The bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are the thinnest on any iPhone ever made. | Image credit-Apple
T-Mobile gets the credit here as it bought Sprint to grab the latter's holdings of mid-band 2.5GHz airwaves while Verizon and AT&T started to build out their 5G networks focusing on mmWave. It was T-Mobile's use of mid-band spectrum that enabled the firm to grab the early 5G leadership in the U.S., something that they arguably have yet to let go of. Mid-band signals will deliver speeds in the range between 100Mbps and 900 Mbps. T-Mobile's success with mid-band 5G led Verizon and AT&T to spend billions to license mid-band spectrum in the C-band, a move that has helped Verizon improve its 5G speeds
Because of its limitations, 5G mmWave is often overlooked both inside and outside the U.S. At one point this year, Apple dropped support for the airwaves on the M4-powered iPad Pro tablets. As we said, iPhone 16 series handsets that support 5G mmWave and don't have a SIM tray are limited to U.S. models only:
iPhone 16: A3081
iPhone 16 Plus: A3082
iPhone 16 Pro: A3083
iPhone 16 Pro Max: A3084
iPhone 16 Plus: A3082
iPhone 16 Pro: A3083
iPhone 16 Pro Max: A3084
Not having to use a SIM tray is a positive for U.S. iPhone 16 users since there is no worry about someone stealing the card from your device, inserting it on his phone, and wiping you out by having access to your two-factor authentication codes thus allowing the thief to change the passwords to your financial apps.
To reiterate, only U.S. iPhone 16 models have the combination of 5G mmWave support along with no SIM tray (leaving users to have their eSIMs activated remotely). This means that U.S. iPhone 16 series users could arguably have the fastest and safest 2024 iPhone models available.
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