Next Generation ‘iPhone 5′ Won’t Support 4G LTE Networks; Will Be Dual-Mode CDMA/GSM (tech, news, update, leaked)

January 9th, 2011:  While the arrival of Apple's iPhone on Verizon's network is widely speculated, people are wondering whether the Verizon iPhone will support Verizon's 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network, which will be rolled out by the end of the year.

AT&T has also announced plans of converting its network to LTE by 2011. 

According to TechCrunch, the CDMA iPhone will not support LTE and according to their sources, even the fifth generation iPhone will not support LTE networks

Incidentally, this is similar to what Apple did with the original iPhone, which worked only AT&T's 2.5G EDGE network. Apple launched the iPhone 3G a good one year after the first generation iPhone  was launched. This, even though there were 3G networks back in 2007 when the original iPhone arrived!

Apple on the other hand is reportedly working on the next generation  iPhone that would support both GSM and CDMA networks so that it can work on all carriers worldwide.

This could mean that you would not be seeing a 4G ready iPhone until mid 2012, which might be disappointing news to iPhone fans, especially when Sprint already has the HTC EVO 4G in its lineup.

But Steve Cheney an outside contributor to TechCrunch believes Apple might be taking the right decision to wait for the technology to mature:

[..] as we cut through the hype on LTE, I believe Apple's decision to wait may be the right one. While the carriers are promising LTE as an upgrade path that will drive new applications and higher speeds, the reality is that 4G deployments will take much longer than the carriers are letting on.

Apple doesn't want to mess with the first generation of LTE chipsets, since they will be bulky and power hungry[..]

What do you think? Will it be a deal-breaker if iPhone 5 doesn't support 4G LTE networks? [Via TechCrunch]

This post is sponsored by your Apple iPhone 4G Repair Specialist: Abby Technology Limited, Auckland, New Zealand