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Friday 13 January 2012

iPhone 4S 3G Speed

Apple's latest handset, the iPhone 4S has two antennas. Whether this is a quest for speedier mobile internet access or just a necessity for Apple's iPhone 4S to overcome the signal problems which affected some (mainly left handed) iPhone 4 users, is a debate for another day.

The key thing to note is that this change increases the theoretical download speed over the 3G mobile network from 7.2 Mbps to 14.4 Mbps by using both antennas at full capacity. From Apple's website:

Image: Apple Inc http://www.apple.com/uk/iphone/features/#performance
This claim is easy to make (and probably confirm) in laboratory conditions, but in the real world is it likely to happen? As any speed below 7.2 Mbps can't for certain be coming from this new dual antennas feature (despite the chances being that it probably is) I have set 7.2 Mbps as a benchmark. In a recent speed test with the iPhone 4S, in an urban area where there is good 3G coverage a download speed of 8.8 Mbps proves that this feature works in practice. And given the correct level of coverage, iPhone 4S users can benefit from faster speeds than (at the moment) any other 3G enable handset.


This is quite a turn around from the signal issues with the iPhone 4, and a welcome addition to an already fully featured handset. If you have tested the 3G speed of your handset, feel free to tweet @webwarpblog with details. Web Warp Blog recommends www.speedtest.net for internet speed testing. Mobile applications are available for iOS and Android devices.

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