Yesterday, the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C were both announced at an event at Apple’s headquarters. Apple made a strong point throughout the unveiling that both the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C support more LTE bands and other ultra-fast networks than any other phone available on the market today.

At first glance, the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C both support cellular networks, Bluetooth 4.0, and dual-band Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n). Apple notes in its product pages that there are five versions, but only four hardware models. This is similar to how the iPhone 5 was set up last year, though there are more hardware models this time around. The important thing to note is the sheer breadth of LTE networks supported in these handsets. Because of this, we’ve laid out the frequencies supported by each hardware model of each iPhone in a table.

iPhone 5S and 5C network support

iPhone 5S (A1533)

iPhone 5C (A1532) iPhone 5S (A1453)

iPhone 5C (A1456) iPhone 5S (A1457)

iPhone 5C (A1407) iPhone 5S (A1530)

iPhone 5C (A1529) Quad-band GSM X X X X UMTS B1 (2100) X X X X UMTS B2 (1900) X X X X UMTS B4 (AWS) X X UMTS B5 (850) X X X X UMTS B6 (850) X X UMTS B8 (900) X X X X LTE B1 (2100) X X X X LTE B2 (1900) X X X X LTE B3 (1800) X X X X LTE B4 (AWS) X X LTE B5 (850) X X X X LTE B7 (2600) X X LTE B8 (900) X X X X LTE B13 (750) X X LTE B17 (700) X X LTE B18 (850) X LTE B19 (850) X X LTE B20 (800) X X X X LTE B25 (1900) X X LTE B26 (850) X LTE B38 (2600) X LTE B39 (1900) X LTE B40 (2300) X CDMA BC10 (800) X CDMA BC0 (850) X X CDMA BC1 (1900) X X CDMA BC15 (AWS) X X CDMA BC6 (2100) X X

Note: “Bx” is “band x”, referring to 3GPP/UMTS/LTE bands. “BCx” is “band class x”, referring to 3GPP2/CDMA band classes. Numbers/words in parentheses are common frequency band labels.



Banding analysis

Once again, the iPhone has two models for the US. Interestingly enough, the major split is between T-Mobile/AT&T/Verizon Wireless and Sprint. In fact, the only reason there is a split is because Model A1533/A1532 does not support LTE band 26, which is Sprint’s new secondary LTE FDD band derived from spectrum used for the old iDEN network. In fact, Sprint’s model (A1453/A1456) is a superset of A1533/A1532. However, it is unlikely that Sprint will allow its model to be unlocked to use on the other three operators. Rogers and Bell in Canada are likely rather unhappy that A1533/A1532 does not support LTE band 7 alongside LTE band 4, since it offers service on both bands.

The American models support the AWS CDMA networks that Cricket and MetroPCS have (though T-Mobile is transitioning MetroPCS customers to the UMTS/LTE network). Since Leap Wireless (Cricket’s parent company) sells the iPhone, this will be a big boon for it.

The Sprint model is also shared with Japan, which explains the addition of Japanese-specific LTE bands 18 and 19 for that model. Since the band 26 hardware can be used to support those Japanese-specific bands, this makes sense.

Unfortunately, Apple has not included LTE band 12 support despite US Cellular having signed a deal with Apple earlier in the year to offer the iPhone. Instead, it will have to rely on its newly built band 5 LTE network to offer LTE service for the iPhone.

The European LTE FDD model (A1457/A1407) removes support for CDMA, UMTS band 4, and US LTE bands. It does add LTE band 7, since the common band set for Europe is LTE bands 20, 3, and 7. It also supports the LTE FDD bands for Asia, though the model is not targeted for Asia. (See: What is LTE?)

The MENA (Middle East, Africa, and Asia) LTE model (A1530/A1529) extends the European model with LTE TDD bands 38, 39, and 40. This model is explicitly targeted toward the burgeoning LTE TDD ecosystem, which predominantly uses bands 38, 39, and 40. While China is making moves to use LTE band 41 (as SoftBank in Japan and Sprint in the US have done), there is not a sizable handset ecosystem around the band yet for Apple to offer it. However, since bands 7 and 38 are supported, it is possible that band 41 is supported in the hardware, but disabled in software. This is because band 41 is merely the frequencies of bands 7 and 38 combined and enabled for TDD. There are plenty of hardware parts on the market that enable bands 7, 38, and 41 using a switched duplexer/filter design.

This is obviously a disappointment to Sprint and SoftBank, who would have preferred to have a model with band 41 on-board. But since this model is not being distributed in Japan or the United States, it has little effect anyway. Eventually, this model may make its way to Europe, where LTE band 38 networks are starting to appear.

Conclusion

Apple has done a great job incorporating the widest array of network technologies and bands into a single device, but it also clearly shows the limits of what can be done. LTE can be deployed on over 40 bands globally, and it is quite the challenge to incorporate as many as possible into a single device. The benefits to Apple for doing this are clear: fewer SKUs to manufacture and manage. For consumers, it means Apple’s iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C are clearly the best devices to choose for the freedom to pick whatever operator suits them best.

In terms of absolute best picks, the Sprint model is the best for the Americas and Japan, as it supports the most bands and offers nearly complete portability across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. However, whether it is truly usable in that way depends entirely on whether or not it is possible to obtain an unlocked version of that model. The unlocked model that Apple plans to sell is the one for T-Mobile/AT&T/Verizon, model A1533/A1532. If it is possible to get the Sprint model unlocked for use with any operator, then that is the one to get. It has the broadest range of network support of any operator’s iPhone models.

Now read: iPhone 5C: A play-it-safe device that milks Apple’s cash cow, but hands the rest of the market to Samsung