Last week, the long-overdue iPhone 12 series was finally released. Although it was a month later than previous years, the popularity still remains the same. You can observe an interesting phenomenon. Once the new iPhone is released, you rarely see it. When it comes to the “next time” complaint, on the contrary, many people will use real gold and silver certificates to prove its popularity-after the sale on the weekend, the news that the iPhone 12 is sold out soon came out. As the focus of this upgrade, 5G network support is naturally the point that consumers care most about, and it is also the main factor behind the hot sale. However, behind the iPhone 12’s new 5G upgrade, there may be many things you don’t know.
Why does the US version of iPhone 12 Pro have a “small patch”?
Careful friends may have discovered that this time the US version of the iPhone 12 Pro has a special detail that is different from other versions. You can observe the subtle differences only from the appearance. The US version of the iPhone 12 Pro has an extra block on the lower right side of the fuselage. “Small patch”. In the previous revelations, this small patch was mistaken for the Touch ID fingerprint recognition module. After the press conference, many people discussed that it was the magnetic charging port for Apple Pencil…
But in fact this is just an ordinary antenna slot, so the question is, why is it only available in the US version?
In fact, this is closely related to the 5G network support in the United States. What needs to be understood is that the global 5G network frequency bands are mainly divided into two types: Sub-6 GHz and millimeter wave. Sub-6 GHz is an electromagnetic wave with a wavelength in the centimeter level, which can be understood as a “centimeter wave”. As the name suggests, it occupies the network frequency band below 6 GHz. The millimeter wave is an electromagnetic wave with a wavelength in the millimeter level. The frequency band is usually 30-300 GHz. It also often includes frequency bands above 24 GHz. In terms of speed alone, millimeter wave has an absolute advantage. It was also mentioned at the Apple conference last week that the theoretical download rate of the US version of iPhone 12 Pro can reach 4Gbps (512MB/s) in a millimeter wave network environment, which is In an ideal environment, I can use up 30 GB of traffic a month in one minute…
At present, the United States is the country that mainly promotes 5G millimeter wave. Because the data throughput of millimeter wave 5G is extremely high, it naturally has higher requirements on signal conditions. This also makes the design of 5G millimeter wave antennas more difficult, but at the same time, mobile phones are reserved for antennas. The layout space is getting smaller and smaller. So it is not difficult to understand why there is an extra signal slot on the US version of the iPhone 12 Pro. After all, the only way to ensure the stability of the millimeter wave signal is also a last resort.
Millimeter wave is so powerful, why don’t we use it
In China’s 5G development path, the current Sub-6 GHz solution is the primary one. As we mentioned earlier, due to the different characteristics of the two frequency bands, the speed of Sub-6 GHz is not as fast as millimeter waves, but Sub-6 cannot be denied. GHz capability, the biggest advantage of this frequency band is strong signal penetration, wide coverage, and lower cost. For example, the current domestic 5G package tariffs are already very affordable worldwide, and operators are also vigorously launching 5G packages with different rates , Although its speed is not as good as millimeter wave, it is much faster than the previous 4G. From this, it is not difficult to find that my country’s choice of Sub-6 GHz as the preferred solution at this stage also wants to solve the 5G network coverage problem first, and then put 5G into practical applications as soon as possible, so that most consumers can use it. Go to 5G network. If you want to get rich, build roads first.
On the other hand, millimeter wave, although the transmission speed is extremely fast, but it has a taste of “externally strong and medium-dry”. It not only has extremely high requirements on the mobile phone’s own signal, but also has very strict requirements on the surrounding environment. It also requires high-density laying due to its small signal coverage Base station, the use cost will be much higher. In the “5G Millimeter Wave Technology White Paper” published by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), the challenges faced by the current millimeter wave technology are specifically emphasized. The first is the signal coverage problem. China Unicom has carried out a real measurement on this. As a result, we can see that the penetration loss of 5G millimeter waves is much higher than that of Sub-6 GHz. At the same time, bad weather such as rain, snow, and fog has an adverse effect on the propagation of millimeter waves.
my country’s millimeter wave is ready
In fact, for the construction of 5G networks, whether it is Sub-6GHz or millimeter wave, there is no distinction between true and false, but the order of development is different . At this stage, my country chooses to bet on Sub-6 GHz because of its stronger coverage and lower cost than millimeter wave, because at present, the 5G network has not fully covered and the killer 5G application is still full of unknowns. Millimeter wave technology is of little significance at this stage. But from a long-term perspective, millimeter waves will definitely be the main solution for hot spots in the future.
It is also mentioned in the “5G Millimeter Wave Technology White Paper” that, compared to Sub-6 GHz and other low and medium frequencies, 5G millimeter waves are easier to implement dense cell deployment. This makes 5G millimeter waves very suitable for applications in densely populated areas such as conference rooms, concerts, stadiums, and subway stations. Therefore, 5G millimeter wave and medium and low frequency Sub-6 GHz have their own different performance advantages. The cooperation and complement between them are the key to achieving a complete 5G experience.
At present, the domestic 5G millimeter wave industry development ecology is relatively complete and has the conditions for deployment and commercialization. We may use 5G millimeter wave networks in the 2022 Winter Olympics scene. At present, mainstream mobile communication equipment providers have launched base station equipment that supports 5G millimeter waves, and chip manufacturers and terminal equipment manufacturers have also released some 5G millimeter wave products. For example, one plus mobile phone recently completed a high-speed 5G millimeter wave technology performance test.
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