Ugh, which iPhone should I get for my wife?

[digitalwanderer]

My wife wants a new phone as she's sick of T-mobile's lousy service on her Pixel 3a XL, so she wants an iPhone from 'em.

I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but I'm not the biggest Apple aficionado. My knowledge of iPhones is limited to the fact that the newer ones have lidar that makes Blender a lot more fun, so I'm cool with my wife getting one.

The iPhone 14 is gonna be announced on the 9th with 17th availability I think I read, so I figure hold off for that and get a deal on a 13. Or does it not work that way?

Any input is appreciated, it's uncharted waters for me.

 

[Pete]

Apple may or may not discount their older models, but stores like Best Buy usually do. Try Costco, too.

 

[orangpelupa]

If you care with updates, iPhone differs in Android in that apps and features are bundled with ps updates in iPhone but on Android most stuff are bundled with Google play.

So keep your iPhone os up to date!

 

[Pressure]

Why would you expect the service to be better on a different phone in your area?

Isn't the problem your mobile service provider?

 

[PSman1700]

If you care with updates, iPhone differs in Android in that apps and features are bundled with ps updates in iPhone but on Android most stuff are bundled with Google play.

So keep your iPhone os up to date!

Yes, the difference between android and ios. Many dont seem to know, but android is more modular, most things update through the playstore, ios through os updates. Hence the OS update longevity comparisons not being apples to apples.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Why would you expect the service to be better on a different phone in your area? Isn't the problem your mobile service provider?

Yeah, unless there is something wrong with the Pixel's antenna, another phone isn't going to improve cell reception.

 

[orangpelupa]

Why would you expect the service to be better on a different phone in your area?

Isn't the problem your mobile service provider?

probably more bands

 

[orangpelupa]

Yes, the difference between android and ios. Many dont seem to know, but android is more modular, most things update through the playstore, ios through os updates. Hence the OS update longevity comparisons not being apples to apples.

obviously, its apple to android, duh!

 

[BRiT]

Hence the OS update longevity comparisons not being apples to apples.

Of course it isn't, the comparison is apples to androids...

 

[digitalwanderer]

Why would you expect the service to be better on a different phone in your area?

Isn't the problem your mobile service provider?

I know that, you all know that, but my wife doesn't feel that way. All her friends have iPhones and they work just fine, so she wants one.

Nope, I do not agree. Nope, I ain't gonna argue. She's been in a fight with her job that ended up in lots of shouting and acrimony on Weds, yesterday she met with her boss who set her off so bad and I was expecting her to come home insanely pissed off and banging things around, instead she was all smiles and laughter. Instead of giving her a write up he gave her a store to manage again that's very close to our house, is extremely low volume, and as a kicker gave her a 5% raise and cancelled her write up. I ain't gonna yuck her yum, she wants an iPhone that's just fine with me.

EDITED BITS: Oh, it's also 1/4 mile from her favorite taco place so she's VERY happy.

 

[Pete]

Tacooooooo!

I haven’t really followed the different networking adapters in different phone models (didn’t Apple go with Intel at one point?), but if signal quality is an issue it might be worth reading some reviews to see if the iPhone 14 covers additional bandwidths to the 13. Heck, different models of the 13 might have different coverage (including unlocked vs. “carrier locked”--does the Verizon model still cover the most bands?). I think T-Mobile bought some new bands recently, but that might be too recent to affect the 14.

 

[wco81]

T Mobile has the best 5G network in the US so if you haven’t gone 5G yet, you might see improved coverage with a 5G device.

Also there could be a difference in baseband among devices, some may support more bands than others.

For now iPhones use Qualcomm baseband and their phones are good for use in overseas networks. In the future they may roll their own modems, because they bought out Intels old baseband division.

as for which iPhone, it depends on screen size and how much of a premium you’re willing to pay for best cameras and displays. For instance their top of the line iPhone 14 Pro Max display will have peak 2000 nits.

 

[digitalwanderer]

My kids have 5G phones and they hate T-mobile more than me.

 

[wco81]

My kids have 5G phones and they hate T-mobile more than me.

Yeah it's a mixed bag.

I have lousy coverage inside my home.

But if I step outside and walk maybe 25-30 feet I get great reception, with speed tests showing well over 100 Gbps and sometimes 200 Gbps downloads.

I've recorded some great speeds near my house but based on the construction of the home I guess, the signals don't reach inside that well, though the mid bands that T-Mobile have are suppose to be better than the mmWave higher frequency bands that Verizon touted.


I just got back from Italy where I had a prepaid SIM and it showed some good speeds too, though not better than T-Mobile. However, I stayed in this one place, in the center of Venice where they generally have good coverage. But if I put the iPad Air with the 5G SIM on one side of the bed, it wasn't so great. But if I put it on the other side of the bed, it was good enough to stream video through a VPN connection back to the US.

And there the buildings are old, probably no newer than early 20th century is the newest so there's a lot of rock construction with buildings placed right next to each other.

 

[BRiT]

I've seen phone signal boosters, which are essentially externally mounted antennas that route to inside the house.

 

[wco81]

I've seen phone signal boosters, which are essentially externally mounted antennas that route to inside the house.

Yeah femtocells?

But I don't know if T-Mobile is offering them for 5G yet.

 

[Pete]

I have lousy coverage inside my home.

Does enabling wifi calling solve that?

 

[wco81]

Does enabling wifi calling solve that?

I would like to be able to use more of my mobile data.

As it happens, I had a power outage last night. It was brief.

But I'm in CA, which is seeing record heat this week and people are being told to conserve electricity from 1-10 PM to avoid blackouts.


So it would be good to have alternative connection which is reliable and fast, in case of power outages. Also Comcast tends to have outages as well.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

But if I step outside and walk maybe 25-30 feet I get great reception, with speed tests showing well over 100 Gbps and sometimes 200 Gbps downloads.

With each progression of wireless networking technologies - from 2.5G to 3G to 4G to 5G - there has been increasing narrowing nanometer bandwidth for signals which means means physical obstructions between you and the antennae on a tower is more impactful. I have 5G home broadband and I am super fortunate that I can put the box on the inside of the window where there is a clear line of sight between it and the tower.

If I move the device behind a wall - dual-layer brick with cavity inbetween for insulation, the bandwidth drops to about 20% compared to where there is just a window between the two. Even in this optimum position, when a really bad storm or heavy rain sweeps in, the bandwidth will nosedive.

 

[wco81]

Yeah another carrier is offering Home 5G at my home.

But there is also a Fiber provider as well.