Verizon Turns on Nationwide 5G Icon in Time for iPhone 12 Launch

Apple is expected to announce a number of 5G phones this week, and presumably to coincide with that, Verizon has begun flipping the switch on its “nationwide 5G network.”

Now, we’re not talking about the carrier’s extremely limited UWB stuff. This is low-band 5G, utilizing dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) that turns 4G channels into 5G channels. Even more plainly, what this moves does is change that plain ol’ 4G icon on your phone into a beautiful new 5G icon, without really providing any differences in performance.

Spotted first by PCMag, but confirmed on a device we’re actively testing, 5G-compatible smartphones on Verizon that usually see a 4G icon can now see a 5G icon, but again, don’t go expecting crazy-high speeds. In fact, from PCMag’s own testing, you may even experience worse performance in some areas versus 4G LTE. This is the nature of low-band 5G, but for marketing purposes, it allows Verizon and Apple to tout something special for iPhones.

5G is just great, isn’t it?

// PCMag