While it might not mean much to those in the United States, LTE-Advanced is coming, and with it some incredible network speeds. Of course, for those on Sprint and T-Mobile, the wait for “true 4G” has been long enough. Samsung might be known for some brilliant smartphones and generally kicking Apple where it hurts but, they’re also heavily invested in network technologies as well. 4G LTE has created a real push for smartphones in these last couple of years and Samsung’s devices are selling like a hotcakes. Put the two together, and it’s pretty obvious that Samsung want to continue this image of having super-fast smartphones to get online with.
One way in which they’re going to do this is to introduce a new version of the Galaxy S 4 that will support LTE-Advanced. The device is said to be launching in Korea very soon, and will run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, as oppose to the elusive Exynos 5 Octa. JK Shin also revealed that he’s in talks with foreign carriers where the Galaxy S 4 Advanced is concerned while talking to reporters at Samsung’s HQ in Suwon, South Korea.
Launching such a device might seem like a strange move, especially when you consider that there’s only one LTE-Advanced network operating commercially around the globe, with this being in Russia. Of course, being one of the first smartphone manufacturers to support such speeds is a pretty big deal. The networks of the world don’t want 4G to become as tired and haggard as 3G became and so this is why LTE networks will continue to evolve over time.
In the US – and other Western countries – networks are more concerned with rolling out their LTE networks first, before they undertake any sort of upgrades to the existing network. However, currently Samsung are the only manufacturer to produce a high-profile device like the Galaxy S 4 with support for such networks, which could lead to Samsung dominating the market when it comes to speedy smartphones, not only in computing terms but in networking terms as well.