T-Mobile is preparing to update the icon they display for iPhone users when they’re on 5G, showing them when they’re using the fastest flavors.
T-Mobile uses three different varieties of 5G: low-band for long-range, widespread coverage; mid-band for the best combination of speed and coverage; and mmWave for providing the fastest speeds in dense, urban areas.
Together, the mid-band and mmWave are what T-Mobile refers to as its Ultra Capacity 5G. Without doing a speed test, however, there has been no easy way to know which flavor of 5G a phone was using.
According to T-Mobile’s President of Technology, Neville Ray, the company is updating their 5G icon with a “UC” to indicate when the iPhone is connected to Ultra Capacity 5G.
The new icon will initially show up on iPhone 12 and 13 models, but will also rollout to Android devices in the near future.