iOS 5.1 code hints at possible LTE iPhone

With 4G LTE making its way onto the new iPad, we guess it wouldn’t be a huge stretch of the imagination to think that perhaps the new iPhone from Apple could feature LTE technology too. Thanks to a string of code discovered in iOS 5.1, that could indeed be the case as the codes have made references to FaceTime calls placed over 4G.

“4G_ON_CALL_CANCEL” = “Cancel”;

“4G_ON_CALL_OK_DISABLE” = “Disable”;

“4G_ON_CALL_OK_ENABLE” = “Enable”;

“4G_ON_CALL_WARNING_DISABLE” = “Disabling 4G will end your phone call. Are you sure you want to disable 4G?”;

“4G_ON_CALL_WARNING_ENABLE” = “Enabling 4G will end your phone call. Are you sure you want to enable 4G?”;

“4G_ON_FACETIME_4G_WARNING_DISABLE” = “Disabling 4G will end FaceTime. Are you sure you want to disable 4G?”;

“4G_ON_FACETIME_WIFI_WARNING_DISABLE” = “Disabling 4G may end FaceTime. Are you sure you want to disable 4G?”;

“4G_TEXT” = “Using 4G loads data faster, but may decrease battery life.”;

Interestingly, some have speculated that perhaps the 4G referenced in the code could instead be pointing towards HSPA+ which has been marketed as 4G by carriers. An alternative scenario could be that Apple is simply testing out LTE and depending on the results, it may or may not make it onto the next iPhone device. As some of you might recall, LTE was dismissed by Apple a couple of years back as it compromised on the battery and design of the iPhone. In any case, we will be keeping our eyes peeled, so back with us in the future for updates.