World 5G Phones

[EEngr]

Soon, I will be made to set aside my trusty 4 band GSM phone. And switch to one of these 5G contraptions. To date, I have not found a good source of information on the compatibility of various models on various different national systems. I figure that people on this site have a definite need to hop around the globe, whip out a phone and expect it to just work (SIM swapping is OK if this will still be a thing).

Any resources out there?

[SpringHeeledJack]

I don't have an sources, but I'm pretty sure that 5G standards are the same the world over, as are the present 4G and 3G networks. As most of us are using smartphones from several manufacturers in the main, the standards of phones shipped to all the markets must be the same, except differing local rules regarding battery safety and recycling etc.

I'm a luddite in regards to tech and for the life of me cannot see any advantage in being on a 5G network for everyday usage. Yes, you can download a huge file in seconds and have crystal clear video calls, but all most people want is a network that doesn't drop out and is consistently there, especially outside metropolitan areas.

Watching and listening to media over the last year it is amazing just how many of the remote participants suffer from disrupted communications.

[Less Hair]

The 5G capabilities and uses can be quite different.
These are all the variants of the iPhone 12 for different markets:

iPhone 12 mini: A2176 (U.S. mmWave), A2398 (Canada & Japan), A2400 (mainland China), A2399 (rest of the world)
iPhone 12: A2172 (U.S. mmWave), A2402 (Canada & Japan), A2404 (mainland China, Hong Kong & Macao), A2403 (rest of the world)
iPhone 12 Pro: A2341 (U.S. mmWave), A2406 (Canada & Japan), A2408 (mainland China, Hong Kong & Macao), A2407 (rest of the world)
iPhone 12 Pro Max: A2342 (U.S. mmWave), A2410 (Canada & Japan), A2412 (mainland China, Hong Kong & Macao), A2411 (rest of the world)

The specific 5G and LTE bands and frequencies supported by each model can be found on Apple’s support site (https://www.apple.com/iphone/cellular/), but as a rule this should give you a bit of caution about ordering an iPhone 12 from outside of your country unless you’re absolutely certain as to which bands your preferred carrier uses.

https://www.idropnews.com/news/apple-is-actually-selling-sixteen-different-iphone-12-models-in-total/145177/

[Jhieminga]

Looking at the list of bands supported by the current iPhone model, I don't think you could ask for more. I understand that some of the newer models also support dual sim operation, with one e-sim and one physical sim. If your provider supports e-sim, that allows you to add a physical sim when you're abroad.

[EEngr]

I don't have an sources, but I'm pretty sure that 5G standards are the same the world over, as are the present 4G and 3G networks.

Not so much. The 3G and 4G GSM networks in the USA use different frequency bands than in Europe. But GSM is GSM and ensuring that one had a phone that covered all the requisite bands is all that it took. Since GSM was rather strictly defined. But if you bought a cheap 2 band phone in the wrong market, it would not operate on the other side of the pond.

The 5G capabilities and uses can be quite different.
These are all the variants of the iPhone 12 for different markets:

https://www.idropnews.com/news/apple-is-actually-selling-sixteen-different-iphone-12-models-in-total/145177/

There appears to be quite a bit of overlap between the US, Canadian and EU band plans in the specifications. But that doesn't mean the phones will work across markets. There's that mmWave vs non mmWave option to consider. I'm hoping to find some actual reviews and/or test results of various models being taken to several regions. Since the above applies to Apple only, it is possible that other manufacturers will build a portable phone. Even if Apple chooses to split the market.

[SpringHeeledJack]

I appreciate that there were minor differences around the globe with networks, but with most major smartphone brands (perhaps 5 or 6 ?) you can use them all over the world without issue as far as I'm aware. 5G would only be limited by network availability at the moment.

[Less Hair]

For full mmWave 5G use you would need some carrier to support it and stay within 5G cells. 5G uses a lot of power (and uses up your data plan very fast) so all those phones get throttled down to only hook on 5G when it is actually needed. One does not need it to listen to music. As 5G is not widely established yet a slower phone will practically do it well for some time.

[Asturias56]

If you are going somewhere a little off the main places its worth checking using Google to see if your plan provider actually works in the destination

I checked with EE pre covid re Tahiti and was assured it worked - it didn't and t' internet had a number of threads pointing this out. They're in dispute withe local Telecoms outfit apparently but have't bothered to update their "advice"
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