Google purposely holding back older Pixel devices

Google has announced that it will not be updating the Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, and the Pixel 5a to support C-band 5G in the US. The company also stated that all of the above-mentioned phones do have all of the necessary hardware to support the band, and that the functionality will work in other countries.

The company made the announcement via a post on the Pixel support forum, but did not explain why it has made the decision.

Google has already updated the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro to support the C-band via an over-the-air (OTA) update.

According to the post, the earlier Pixel models “have C-band capable hardware and are enabled for operation in certain countries.” The company does “not have any plans to support C-band operation in the US,” it added.

Take note, while the older Pixel devices support C-band, Pixel 5 has already received FCC’s approval to use C-band.

It is big news, considering that two of the three major telecom service providers are investing heavily on the technology.

While C-band is not as fast as mmWave, it does bring in more range, thus being a more viable option for customers. Verizon and AT&T are currently investing top dollar for setting up infrastructure to make C-band a big part of their 5G networks.

Coming to T-Mobile, it is currently not utilising the C-band, but has announced plans for 2023 where it is looking to introduce it to its network.

While Google currently is abstaining from bringing C-band support to its older Pixel devices, it does not mean it will never do so. If the demand for the technology surpasses a threshold, the company might decide to backtrack and provide support using an OTA update. It will be extremely easy for the company to do so considering that it already supports the tech in the older Pixel phones in select countries.

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