Deutsche Telekom Hints That Apple's iPhone 5S Could Support LTE-A

In a recent press release announcing the availability of its super fast LTE-A service, carrier Deutsche Telekom has hinted that the iPhone 5S - or, at least, the European build of the seventh-generation smartphone - could launch with support for the high speed standard. The news reached us from 9to5Mac, who draws attention to the carrier's statement. Deutsche Telekom explains:

Samsung will offer an updated version of the Galaxy S4 with LTE +. Appropriate devices from other manufacturers will follow the end of September.

As such, it's been speculated that the "other manufacturers" producing appropriate handsets at "the end of September" could refer to Apple's iPhone 5S, which is expected to reach Apple Retail Stores in the weeks following its announcement on Sept. 10. As a reminder, LTE-A is what engineers originally hoped would be called 4G (with the LTE we already know being envisaged as a stopgap "3.5G"), and the standard offers cellular download speeds of up to 150MB per second. Of course, once the standard is adopted worldwide it's likely that Apple will add support for LTE-A in a future iPhone; whether this could occur as soon as the iPhone 5S, however, remains to be seen. We'll keep you updated with further information as we receive it. In the meantime, see: What To Expect At Apple's Tuesday Event Beyond New iPhones, China Labor Watch Condemns iPhone 5C Manufacturer In New Report, and Celebrate The 50th Anniversary Of The Porsche 911 With Real Racing 3.

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