iPad 3 should get LTE before the iPhone 5 for an obvious reason

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 16 January 2012 19:04

Opinion and Analysis

An online article attempts to explain why the iPad 3 will get LTE before the iPhone, but the answer as to why this should be so seems very clear - at least to me.

I was just reading an article entitled 'Why the iPad 3 will get LTE before the iPhone', and it carries on about bigger batteries in the iPad 3, more LTE networks available and more.

But one simple answer as to WHY the iPad 3 should get LTE before the iPhone 5 is because'¦ drum roll please people'¦  the iPad 3 will be released at least SIX MONTHS before the iPhone 5!!

Of course, it's very possible that Apple will choose to shock us all by NOT including LTE compatibility in the iPad 3, but given that several other phones and tablets already have LTE built-in, it's easy to expect LTE in the iPad 3 long before it arrives in the iPhone 5, or iPhone 4G, or whatever Apple chooses to iCall it, not that anyone's "easy expectation" is any guarantee of Apple doing anything.

The reports before the iPhone 4S launched suggested that Apple was waiting for newer, better, less power hungry LTE chipsets to arrive before they'd include one in the iPhone, and this clearly was a wise move.

After all, anyone who has ever seen, used or read about 4G LTE capable smartphones knows that when in 4G mode, battery power is drained faster than Bob Hawke can down a stubbie.

In addition, LTE networks are still being rolled out, and while those networks are larger in 2012 than they were in most of 2011, LTE is clearly not available everywhere as yet.

But with so many other phones and tablets either sporting 4G LTE or coming with 4G LTE this year'¦ and reported rapid innovation in LTE chipsets'¦ it seems doubtful that Apple would choose to wait for an iPad 4 to release an iPad with 4G when 4G networks that work and are being rapidly expanded are here and ready now.

There would clearly be a 4G LTE "on/off" slider in the control panel too, letting the end-user choose when to feel the need for LTE speed at the expense of afterburning some battery life, and flying through that danger zone is what battery life is for, after all!

And, to employ a bit of fun fuzzy logic, given that the iPad 3 is meant to be one millimetre thicker than the iPad 2 due to the Retina Display-class screen within, thus giving Apple one millimetre more space for an LTE-capable battery. Well, maybe not. They'll need that space for the screen. But who knows what magic has up its sleeve to ensure a powerful enough battery to handle not only an LTE chipset, but a quad-core processor and a vastly more capable display?

Apple very strictly ensures it controls as much of the production line as possible, right down to looking after its own battery chemistries, making sure they work in as synchronised a fashion as possible with Apple's own OS and hardware designs.

Of course, while nothing is certain when it comes to Apple, save for the fact that iDevices do indeed blend, the iPad 3 should get LTE before the next iPhone for a very obvious reason - it's coming in mere weeks, not months like the iPhone 4G/4GS/5, and if it doesn't, it will definitely be a surprise!