Only four days to go until Tim Cook takes the stage and unveils this year's most anxiously awaited smartphone, the iPhone 5. Regardless of the fact that we're certain about iPhone 5 announcement, it doesn't mean that the rumours won't stop coming in until the product is actually released. A Japanese blog reports that a China Unicom executive has revealed that the iPhone 5 will be compatible with HSPA+, which is often referred to as 4G.
To avoid confusion, let the record reflect that this isn't 4G LTE compatibility. Clarification is needed because for quite sometime now rumours have indicated that Apple will launch an LTE capable iPhone 5. However it was later ruled out as Apple has yet to find a chip that would meet its specific size and power consumption requirements.
Research Vice President of China Unicom during his presentation, shared this information of HSPA+ or 4G connectivity in iPhone 5 via a slideshow. Theoretically, HSPA+ connectivity should offers speeds as fast as 21Mbps. Based on its speed, 3.5G would have been a more appropriate name for HSPA+ however, 4G is now more common given the fact that AT&T have been flaunting it as a bridge to LTE.
China Unicom has been selling the iPhone through its retail network in China. Recently it was reported that China Unicom executives were in talks with Apple as they want to bring iPhone 5 to China, and we previously reported that China Unicom might sell iPhone 5 from November . Given the fact that this interesting tid bit about HSPA+ connectivity in iPhone 5 was revealed by a China Unicom executive, one may have multiple views about the claim's legitimacy. Obviously, with the iPhone 5 announcement just around the corner, it is only a matter of time before official details of iPhone 5 are revealed.
The iPhone 5 release event has been scheduled for October 4 at 10 am pacific time and will be held at the Apple Town Hall Auditorium in Cupertino California. If you would like to know at what time the iPhone 5 release event will be live in your country or city, simply check this chart. Since the event is invite only, not everyone can be there on Apple's campus in Cupertino to attend it, however we have posted a couple of ways to watch iPhone 5 release event live online.