Two things are apparently desirable as smartphone users. First, we want plans that don’t care about calling or text, but instead focus on data and how much of it we get to use/get charged for. Second, we apparently care about making calls over our carrier’s LTE network. Yes, it’s Droid soak test time again folks. This time, it is expected to hit owners and users of the Droid MAXX, Ultra, and Mini. So what is special about this one? Well, as said before, we apparently care about voice-over-LTE, shortened to VoLTE, capabilities on our smartphones. Apple incorporated VoLTE into the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and now Android manufacturers are deciding to give the green light to send it out to their devices and users.
Verizon is, as usual, a great candidate for anything LTE-related because it has the largest area covered, of all the carriers in the United States. But what is voice-over-LTE, and why should you care? And specifically regarding the soak test, why should you accept and give the new firmware a try? Voice-over-LTE is what its name states. It allows you to send packets of data that contain voice from a phone call over the high-speed LTE network that your device is connected to, instead of the normal 2G, voice-exclusive speed of connectivity. What does this mean though? It means you get clearer and crisper (depending on the microphone and speaker receiving and sending the sound, of course) voice calls, when connected to LTE. VoLTE is an interesting move, especially since more of us move from calling friends to texting them and messaging them from various forums and services.
The idea is that when you call someone, even if you have super-fast data speeds, that you shouldn’t be relegated to the normal crunchy, sometimes-garbled, crackling, and often broken up voice calls you have now (depending again on receiving and sending hardware, of course). If you own one of the three devices to get the test firmware, would you accept the invitation, even though you might not make calls? If you have one of the devices, have you gotten the invite yet? If you have the firmware and give it a try, how is the VoLTE? Let us know down below.