A government agency, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, accused Apple last month of misleading customers with its marketing material surrounding the new iPad, which claims the iPad is "Wi-Fi + 4G." Since Australian 4G LTE networks operate on frequencies incompatible with the American networks the new iPad was designed to use, the iPad isn't really 4G, the commission argues.
But in a federal court filing reported by The Australian, Apple says that doesn't matter. Since the iPad can connect to the HSPA+ networks that are available in Australia, it's still technically 4G. While HSPA+ speeds aren't nearly as fast as LTE, they're still faster than 3G networks, and technically fall into the broad standard of 4G set by the International Telecommunication Union.
Here's the rub: Australia's wireless carriers market their HSPA+ networks as "3G" not "4G," even though they're technically allowed to. This is in contrast to U.S. carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile, who label their HSPA+ networks 4G.
Earlier this year, Apple even updated the network icon on the AT&T version of the iPhone 4S, changing it from "3G" to "4G," to represent the faster connection. The move received widespread criticism. Beyond the fundamental issue of whether or not HSPA+ is really 4G, many said Apple was misleading customers that their phones were suddenly faster, when in fact only the icon had changed.
Notably, the new iPad only displays an "LTE" icon when it's connected to an LTE network. Presumably, if you bought a Wi-Fi + 4G iPad in Australia, you would never see the indicator.
Apple also recently updated its Australian website to make clear that the Wi-Fi + 4G iPad will not connect to LTE (or WiMax, another 4G technology) in Australia. Visitors checking out the specs of the tablet or trying to buy it see these disclaimers:
What do you think should happen here? Should Apple back off and just market the iPad as "3G" in Australia, or is the government agency being too strict about the "4G" label? Sound off in the comments.
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