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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.
Like they noticed AT&T passing off 3G as 4G... Right, guys, right? They all noticed that.
Back when G had a definition, few people knew it. Now it doesn't have a definition, so phone companies can call whatever they like 5G. Its not like the US has an advertising standards agency or anything to punish companies who deliberately advertise misleading information. Hell, AT&T would get away with it by simply saying that 5G stands for G-G-G-G-Good.
They system was poisoned a long time ago but it never harmed the people doing the poisoning.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
"Outright lying" may be true, but it's a little harsh. The preferred term is "reality distortion field".
Gonna beat them all, switching to 6G and IP7!
(Places sticker on back of phone) There. That'll show 'em. It also blocks harmful radiation.
Liar. We are the same.
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.)
The issue is that 5G is actually a set of speed standards that can technically be met with LTE. But, LTE was built to be a 4G platform and isn't going to expand to faster speeds in the future like a new standard built specifically for 5G would - and you really shouldn't buy into a phone as "5G" until whatever replaces LTE is released. AT&T pulled this same crap with 4G, branding things as "4G" because it technically just barely met the standards, well before they rolled out LTE.
It's kind of relevant because it demonstrates that Apple has a long relationship with AT&T, even if they no longer have an iPhone exclusive relationship.
It's also kind of relevant because of Apple's insistence on bring a privacy company and their image as beyond "above" carrier meddling in their platform.
Agreeing to run propaganda in the status field for a carrier suggests that Apple isn't beyond putting carrier interests above consumer interests in things like "what fucking network am I really on?" and things like the truth.
This video is still relevant today...
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
Why would anyone step in?
Your president lies on a grand scale and for like-minded he is the example to follow.
Oh sorry, this 5G E is not a lie but an Alternative Truth.
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
Actually, I wrote a post about this a loooooooooooong time ago and the only reason they "met" the standard is they lobbied the FCC to change the definition of 4G in a legal sense. They never met the technical standard, and I'm not sure they even do now... This is normal marketing voodoo. They already rolled this crap out to several Android handsets and I've had people comment thinking exactly what AT&T wants, and then I quickly inform them they just changed the icon basically...
In fact, I found it: https://slashdot.org/comments....
They've lobbied the legal definitions into a complete mess that doesn't actually resemble the original technical definition. This is most of marketing for companies like them, cheat now, get caught and feign ignorance later.
Until someone that actually understands what they are doing has something to gain in their position of power it pretty much goes unnoticed/unaddressed. It is kind of like trying to bail the water out of a sinking battleship with a solo cup...
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.
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.