Apple rebrands 4G LTE iPad as 'iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular'

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
In many of Apple's stores, the 4G LTE-capable iPad has been rebranded "iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular," following scrutiny that the device is only compatible with LTE networks in North America.

The change even applies in the U.S. and Canada, where networks are compatible with the 4G LTE radio found in the third-generation iPad. It has also taken effect in both the U.K. and Australia, where local governments took issue with the fact that the new iPad was advertised as being a 4G LTE device, even though it is not compatible with any 4G networks in those countries.

Some international users complained that they felt Apple's advertising of the new iPad was misleading, and gave them the impression that it would offer connectivity with high-speed long-term evolution networks. The iPad was previously advertised as "Wi-Fi + 4G" around the world, even though it only connects to slower 3G networks outside of North America.

After the U.K. advertising standards authority approached apple about the issue, the company removed references to 4G from its website, and also edited a video that talked about 4G LTE connectivity. But the U.K. Apple Store still advertised the cellular-capable model as "Wi-Fi + 4G."

Cellular


In Australia, Apple previously updated its online store to further clarify that the new iPad is not compatible with 4G LTE networks in that country. That change was made after the Australian government accused Apple of "misleading" customers with the advertising of the new iPad.

"This product supports very fast cellular networks. It is not compatible with current Australian 4G LTE networks and WiMAX networks," the Australian Apple store still reads under the "Wi-Fi + Cellular" listing. "For service from a wireless carrier, sign up for a simple, month-by-month plan on your iPad and cancel anytime without penalty."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 158
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    COP OUT.


     


    What's with these countries? This isn't Apple's problem. It's an international problem that every country needs to come together and fix.


     


    Define what 4G is. Period. Make it illegal to misrepresent that. Problem solved.

  • Reply 2 of 158
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    COP OUT.

    What's with these countries? This isn't Apple's problem. It's an international problem that every country needs to come together and fix.

    Define what 4G is. Period. Make it illegal to misrepresent that. Problem solved.

    As I stated in a previous thread Apple shouldn't have ambiguous in any way as that benefits the plaintiffs. They should have called it WiFi + Cellular from the start or called it WiFi + 4G with a very clear definition that 4G refers to the ITU-R's international definition, not a colloquial or marketing definition of a country or carrier.
  • Reply 3 of 158
    fredaroonyfredaroony Posts: 619member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    COP OUT.


     


    What's with these countries? This isn't Apple's problem. It's an international problem that every country needs to come together and fix.


     


    Define what 4G is. Period. Make it illegal to misrepresent that. Problem solved.



    lol so many of your posts are pointless but this one tops them off. This is 100% Apple's problem only created by them.

  • Reply 4 of 158
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by fredaroony View Post

    This is 100% Apple's problem only created by them.


     


    Think what you will.

  • Reply 5 of 158
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member


    No other global corporation tries to sell the exact same product under the exact same name in every single country. Apple was being a bit arrogant to assume that the rest of the world should adapt to US nomenclature and technology. Apple should also consider modifying the radios in the devices to actually take advantage of the LTE frequencies available in those countries that cannot use the US frequencies. The way they were doing business up until now would be like Toyota sending right hand drive cars to the US because that is what they make for the Japanese market. You have to tailor your product and branding to be compatible with each culture/region that you market in. That's all there is to it.

  • Reply 6 of 158
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    mstone wrote: »
    No other global corporation tries to sell the exact same product under the exact same name in every single country. Apple was being a bit arrogant to assume that the rest of the world should adapt to US nomenclature and technology. Apple should also consider modifying the radios in the devices to actually take advantage of the LTE frequencies available in those countries that cannot use the US frequencies. The way they were doing business up until now would be like Toyota sending right hand drive cars to the US because that is what they make for the Japanese market. You have to tailor your product and branding to be compatible with each culture/region that you market in. That's all there is to it.

    ITU ? US
  • Reply 7 of 158
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post

    Apple was being a bit arrogant to assume that the rest of the world should adapt to US nomenclature and technology.


     


    Do other countries not call LTE 4G? That's not the issue here; it's the incredible ambiguity of the scope of the 4G that Apple covers.

  • Reply 8 of 158
    fredaroonyfredaroony Posts: 619member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    Think what you will.



    It's quite obvious but it seems you cannot/will not see it.

  • Reply 9 of 158
    euphoniouseuphonious Posts: 303member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    Think what you will.



     


    fredaroony is right. Apple used that terminology worldwide in the  knowledge that it could be misleading in countries with 4G coverage other than the USA. That is asking for legal trouble.


     


    It doesn't matter who defines '4G', or that the definition isn't consistent worldwide - if Apple uses it, in a particular jurisdiction, to mean something other than what consumers could reasonably be expected to understand it as meaning, it's still potentially misrepresentation.

  • Reply 10 of 158
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by fredaroony View Post

    It's quite obvious but it seems you cannot/will not see it.


     


    Funnily enough, that was my other choice for a response to what you said. image


     



    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Euphonious View Post

    Apple used that terminology worldwide in the  knowledge that it could be misleading in countries with 4G coverage other than the USA. That is asking for legal trouble.



     


    Yes, THAT was the problem, not the fact that it was called "Wi-Fi+4G".

  • Reply 11 of 158
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    ITU ? US


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    Do other countries not call LTE 4G? That's not the issue here; it's the incredible ambiguity of the scope of the 4G that Apple covers.



    If the UK and AU have LTE and 4G networks but they are incompatible with the US LTE and 4G frequencies/protocols does it make sense to say it is a problem with the definition of what 4G? I thought the definition was based on speed of data. Their 4G and our 4G are both fast enough they are just incompatible in that a device designed for one 4G network will not work at 4G speeds on the other network.

  • Reply 12 of 158
    cgjcgj Posts: 276member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    COP OUT.


     


    What's with these countries? This isn't Apple's problem. It's an international problem that every country needs to come together and fix.


     


    Define what 4G is. Period. Make it illegal to misrepresent that. Problem solved.



    And in the meantime, don't advertise that your product works on 4G networks in countries that either doesn't have a 4G network, or has a different 4G network to that used by the iPad.

  • Reply 13 of 158
    majjomajjo Posts: 574member


    Wifi + Cellular is, imo, the cleanest and most concise way to describe the connectivity abilities of the iPad, so I welcome the name change.


     


    While the 3G/4G monikers have become synonymous with "Cellular data connectivity," they're marketing terms and mask the real issue -- people care first and foremost about the actual ability to connect to a cellular data network; the protocol used and speed (for the most part) are secondary considerations.

  • Reply 14 of 158
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post

    …does it make sense to say it is a problem with the definition of what 4G? I thought the definition was based on speed of data.


     


    To the question, yes, particularly in countries that don't have LTE, like the UK and places that lie, like the US (but as AT&T does have LTE in its own right, that gets a pass).


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by CGJ View Post

    And in the meantime, don't advertise that your product works on 4G networks in countries that either doesn't have a 4G network, or has a different 4G network to that used by the iPad.


     


    Bingo. And they never did. Apple just didn't do it WELL, by any stretch of the imagination.

  • Reply 15 of 158
    gromitgromit Posts: 37member
    Darn!

    But I wanted to not use the iPad3 on the non existant 4G network in the UK!!!
  • Reply 16 of 158
    euphoniouseuphonious Posts: 303member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Bingo. And they never did.



     


    Of course they did! They told consumers in markets with incompatible 4G networks that the product supported 4G. The reasonable conclusion for those consumers to draw was that the product could receive a 4G signal in their country, according to the definition of '4G' as they reasonably understood it in reference to that market.


     


    Consumers shouldn't have to learn about frequency bands in order to scrutinise Apple's claims. The onus is upon Apple as the supplier to market its products responsibly, and it failed to do so in this respect.

  • Reply 17 of 158

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Euphonious View Post




    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    Think what you will.



     


    fredaroony is right. Apple used that terminology worldwide in the  knowledge that it could be misleading in countries with 4G coverage other than the USA. That is asking for legal trouble.


     


    It doesn't matter who defines '4G', or that the definition isn't consistent worldwide - if Apple uses it, in a particular jurisdiction, to mean something other than what consumers could reasonably be expected to understand it as meaning, it's still potentially misrepresentation.


     




     


     


    I agree.  And to use it in the product name makes it all the more confusing.


     


    If a Japanese phone company were to come out with a phone named after a function usable only in Japan, I would not be surprised if American buyers got confused.

  • Reply 18 of 158
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Euphonious View Post

    Of course they did! They told consumers in markets with incompatible 4G networks that the product supported 4G. 


     


    Which is true. And they also explicitly stated which frequencies of 4G they supported.


     


    Quote:

    Consumers shouldn't have to learn about frequency bands in order to scrutinise Apple's claims.


     


    That'd be nice. But you don't see any complaining about the unlocked iPhone, and its fine print mirrors the iPad's.


     


    Quote:


    The unlocked iPhone includes all the features of iPhone but without a contract commitment. You can activate and use it on the supported GSM wireless network of your choice, such as AT&T in the United States.*



     


    All the features. Well, that means I get ALL the features.


     


    Quote:


    Service may not be available in all areas or at the signal strength, rates, speeds, or bandwidth as demonstrated.



     


    And consumers know (or are supposed to know) what that means. And they get along just fine.

  • Reply 19 of 158
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    majjo wrote: »
    Wifi + Cellular is, imo, the cleanest and most concise way to describe the connectivity abilities of the iPad, so I welcome the name change.

    In the US, sure, but most of the world knows it as Mobile, not Cellular. You ever will read pedantic, anti-American posters claim that Americans are stupid for calling it cellular.
  • Reply 20 of 158
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Good grief why didn't they just do this from the beginning.
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