The iPhone 5 Should Deliver Improved Signal Reception

According to antenna expert and owner of website AntennaSys Spencer Webb, the iPhone 5’s increase in height and other changes in its design should improve signal reception. He wrote extensively about the antenna issues in the original iPhone 4.

Webb said that the iPhone 5 has increased distance between upper and lower antennas so the antenna diversity will perform better. Antenna diversity - feat that was first introduced in the iPhone 4S - allows both the lower and upper antennas to receive and send signals. He said:

“Ergonomically, the taller phone means the average hand won't be able to cover both antennas. It's harder to hold "wrong". Also, since LTE operates at a lower frequency, 700 MHz, the additional separation is even more valuable.

The aluminum body of the new iPhone 5 will also help the antenna performance, and the hand sensitivity issue will be further diminished”.

Webb also said that LTE support could sometimes help with network congestion. Many tasks that are usually performed on the iPhone, for example, fetching email and Google searches, will still be done on the new iPhone with LTE support, but these tasks will not use carrier signal for as long time.