Putting aside all the controversies T-Mobile has been embroiled in in the past few months, we have some good news for the carrier’s customers. T-Mobile has announced the nationwide rollout of its 5G Advanced network, which is an evolution of 5G technology.
What is the T-Mobile 5G Advanced network
So, what does this mean for T-Mobile customers? If you own a compatible handset, you should experience improvements in terms of speed and latency. For example, one of the features of 5G Advanced is improved speeds even when the network is congested. This means that if you’re at an event with thousands of people, you shouldn’t suffer a degradation of your connection’s speed.
According to T-Mobile, “5G Advanced changes the equation! Through network slicing — a network management technique that customizes the connection to meet use case-specific needs — T-Mobile can create a highly consistent network experience.”
It also leverages the use of AI to help make the network more efficient. This should, in theory, translate into reduced power consumption, so your 5G devices won’t be as power-hungry as before. Of course, your experience may differ based on your phone usage habits. However, in theory, it should improve energy efficiency.
Pixel owners will have to sit this one out
Now, we said that the nationwide rollout of the T-Mobile 5G Advanced network will apply to those who own a compatible handset. Unfortunately, this means that Pixel (and iPhone) owners will have to sit this one out.
This is because to take advantage of T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced network, your device needs to have a modem that supports it. If you own a handset that is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, you’re good. However, since Google’s Tensor chipsets are based on Samsung’s Exynos chipsets, they’ll have to miss out. The same goes for Apple’s iPhones. The latest iPhone 16 uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem, which, unfortunately, isn’t compatible.
We’re not sure if this will change with the Pixel 10 and the Tensor G5. Or Apple’s iPhone 17 series. So we’ll have to wait and see. However, if you’re perfectly fine with your current speeds and connectivity, then maybe it’s not such a big deal.
