Slashdot Mirror
Apple Just Endorsed AT&T's Fake 5G E Network (theverge.com)
There are no 5G iPhones, and there probably won't be 5G iPhones for a while. But that isn't stopping Apple and AT&T: they are reportedly rolling out AT&T's fake "5G E" branding with its upcoming iOS 12.2 update. From a report: Much like when the two companies pulled this scam with 4G and LTE back in 2012, if you can't beat them, you roll out a software update to make it look like you did even though the phones and network are still exactly the same. Multiple users on Twitter are now reporting that they're seeing the new 5G E icon on devices running the latest iOS 12.2 beta 2, which was released earlier today. The new icon isn't there for everyone, presumably because it will only appear in cities where AT&T's 5G Evolution network -- the company's intentionally misleading name for its LTE network that it seems to hope customers will confuse for actual, next-generation 5G networks -- is active.
My phone was upgraded today with the new beta and I am enjoying the new speeds. And it was free!
People will notice. I mean, yes, they'll be suckered in for the "new", but soon they'll find out that the new is just a new coat of paint on the old. And then? You think they'll get "6G" (or whatever the next gen thing will be) once they have been burned now?
Fuck those quarter-report idiots.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I mean, isn't this kind of misleading packaging, if not an outright lie?
Why isn't the FCC stepping in and ... oh, wait, hang on, the FCC is fronted by an asshole who will give the carriers anything they want.
Right, Ajit Pai is a lying sack of shit whose job it is to cover for other lying sacks of shit.
Fuck you, Ajit Pai.
I don't understand how they are getting away with this. This is outright lying.
... washes the others.
That is all.
Surely that should be illegal in any country of the world. Or where do we live that two companies can blatantly lie and get away with it?
by about six months
I would like to take this high level post to point out that we are not the same users.
This is the kind of thing that makes me ashamed to be an employee of AT&T. So many things about working here are great, but shit like this, I wish I could actually do something about it.
Don't y'all have truth in advertising laws over there?
Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.
This misleading advertising damages their business because they aren't doing it, and the confusion it will cause will slow adoption of actual 5G once anyone makes it.
This is a surprise? They did the same thing YEARS ago when AT&T decided their 3G+ network was really 4G. Same ol' same ol' from two companies known for misleading their customers.
Buzzing the information Superhighway at Warp speed
Look at AT&T U-Verse service. It was marketed as broadband that goes head-to-head with cable internet services or something like Verizon FiOS. Their marketing made a big deal about it using fiber, even. Yet it's *really* just a fancy way to squeeze about 18mbit/sec download speeds, maximum, out of copper wire intended for voice land line phone use. (Sure, they run fiber as far as the nearest phone box at the end of a neighborhood street. But all the gear in the box converts the fiber to a form of DSL service they can run over the copper from there to a customer's site.)
Only a fool expects a corporation to police the other corporations they have to do business with. Government is supposed to police things; that was it's job before you all abdicated your responsibility and let corporations merge with it (see definition of fascism... then ask yourself what is the threshold where that term applies?)
How is it not YOUR fault that ATnT is doing this?? You are still a paying customer of theirs... Aren't you supposed to police them with your purchases? Aren't you supposed to monitor everything that all the companies you do business with and then punish them by boycotting them? What is the threshold for you taking responsibility for where your $ goes? (and how much free time do you have to do that?) Whatever your answer, the amount you tolerate/compromise is the exact amount of oppression/exploitation you are allowing.
"The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress"
-Frederick Douglas
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
My carrier offered me a discounted package with 3G speeds, but LTE latency (my phone shows an LTE connection and I don't really notice much a difference from when I had their 4g "full speed" package). Is this something similar, or is it just a straight up scam? If so, how do they call this an upgrade?
None of the major IT companies are your friend, but Apple has had a "reputation" of standing with the everyman. Those days are largely gone. They get up to the same shenanigans as other companies, they just do it differently. Apple hasn't innovated in some time. In the mobile space, only the Android handsets are innovating. The iPhone, et al, are riding on the coattails of earlier successes. There is very little difference in recent iPhones other than chip speed and cameras, and these have improved for all handsets. The Chinese companies like Oppo, Huawei, Vivo, and others are now seeing Apple in their rear view mirrors. Apple has no more visionaries. They are maintaining status quo with nominal, incremental upgrades. When I can save the coin up, I will be switching to a Google Pixel.
Back when AT&T was called Cingular, they and apple were in bed.
So, why are you all acting so surprised?
*** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
Slashdot, your Anti-Apple bias is showing... Again!
Apparently, despite the breathless headline to this article, which clearly makes it look like Apple is in some nefarious conspiracy with AT&T, an article on the appearance of the "5G E" nomenclature on iPhones running Apple's iOS 12.2 beta 2 on the AT&T network comes long AFTER that same "Fake 5G" showed up on some Android phones. According to MacRumors:
"AT&T began rolling out its fake 5G icon to Android smartphones in early January, and it now appears the change is extending to the iPhone."
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/02/04/att-iphones-5ge-icon-beta-2/
But never let the facts slow down a rabid Slashdot Anti-Apple article!
CAPTCHA: Denial
It's a developer beta, for crying out loud. There's nothing to say it will be in the next developer beta, nor the public beta, nor the release. There could be any of a number of reasons why it's there in beta 2. Unless it's carried forward, how about toning down the sensationalism?
Call it 4.5G. Tell Marketing it has 5G in it if they complain.
"Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
I'm like. That's not a real thing. 5G isn't a thing. My wife looks at me like I'm crazy. I tell her it's bullshit. Leave me alone.
You bought into the brand. Now, they're selling you the hype
I still have the bridge if you're interested in that
Now with 5G!
Have gnu, will travel.
The strings you see for the network are delivered by the carrier, not Apple. That's why it's also been showing up on some Android phones too.
(Thanks to AC for the link).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The whole "G" thing is just marketing. If it doesn't indiciate a protocol, bandrate, frequency, or any other details, it's all just fluff anyway.
A government is a body of people notably ungoverned - AC
... in place of LTE, for whenever we're connected to a Stingray interceptor device?
Or is it XG? Am I doing this right?
Much like when the two companies pulled this scam...
Nope, nope, nope! That's just stereotypical Apple-hater clickbait; nothing new to see here, folks. The geeks who actually care about this stuff have already read at least one of the previous articles on the topic, such as last month's article which pointed out that AT&T had then already enlisted Samsung and LG to label their phones in this manner. Also, it's worth noting that the two previous articles were both from The Verge, like this one... so I guess Verge is just really pumped about recycling. (Not the "good" kind of recycling... but still.) And as far as I can tell from the summary, this newer version of the story has utterly no purpose other than to enrage Android uses into hating on Apple some more... so that Verge can put a few more ads in front of hapless eyeballs.
So yeah, screw that crap; you'll have to do a hell of a lot better than that to get your ad revenue out of me, Verge.
Learn from the best.. if you can't beat em. Then fake it.
Blame the republicans, but ignore 8 years of Obama. Ignore that we had control of both chambers for his first 2 years, and all we got out of that is making the insurance companies rich.
I hope I get this update on my Huawei phone!
"Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
--- Jerry Garcia
How is this not false advertising?
I just bought an AT&T Electric LTE car! It is 100% gas but is forward-looking.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Just how is that news? That's just standard operating procedure for apple.
AT&T should be boycotted for lying to the public. And Apple should face shame for being complicit in AT&T's lies.
Horrible.
DID YOU FORGET 6 MONTHS AGO FAGGOT LIAR? You're a fucking moron lol. Learn to read LYING TRUMP FAGGOTS.
As the owner of a Galaxy Note 4, I've spent some time looking at the later Galaxy Note specs. While the specs are improved , it's not like they are awesomely better.
The screen on my Galaxy Note 4 is already fantastic. The camera isn't too bad either. So the only real step up would be the faster CPU it seems.
Maybe I am missing something. Has anyone here upgraded from a Galaxy Note 4 recently? What were your experiences? Did it seem worth it?
I fucking hate AT&T. They are pure evil. The government broke it up and yet it reassembled itself from the "Baby Bells" after the divestiture, like Terminator 2.
They should have just used "E" icon, like old times.
It is not likely that they would get away with this fraud anywhere except the USA. The rest of us tend to have laws that should protect the customer from deceptive practices like this!
I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.