You’ll soon see a new 5G icon on the Motorole Edge+; here’s why

Apple isn’t the only phone manufacture that rolled out an update on Thursday. While Apple disseminated iOS 14.2 for the iPhone, Verizon’s Motorola Edge+ 5G received software version QPB30.289-Q3-102-13-15. The update gives Motorola’s latest flagship phone the October Android security update; it also adds a new 5G icon to the phone for reasons that we will soon make clear.

Originally the Edge+ 5G featured support for Verizon’s faster Ultra Wideband service. This high-band spectrum allows the carrier to deliver the fastest 5G download data speed in the states at this time. However, these signals don’t travel that far and they are easily blocked by structures. Verizon originally focused its 5G efforts on Ultra Wideband but realized that it would need spectrum similar to the low-band airwaves that T-Mobile acquired during an FCC auction. These bands deliver slower 5G speeds, but travel farther. Without low-band, it could have taken much longer for Big Red to launch a nationwide 5G service. As it turned out, Verizon announced its nationwide 5G service on October 13th.

So Verizon turned to “Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS)” to build out its nationwide 5G service. DSS allows 4G and 5G to run alongside each other. When a 5G Ultra Wideband customer moves outside of the 5G service area, with DSS he/she will remain connected to 5G using lower band spectrum. The technology also allows Verizon to use its current network resources to support both 4G and 5G signals.

So why does the Edge+ 5G need a new icon? Because now the device not only supports Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service, it also works with Verizon’s nationwide 5G service as well. As Verizon wrote on its support page for this phone, “5G Nationwide access to your device! 5G Nationwide is available in 1,800+ cities. You’ll see a 5G icon when you’re in a 5G Nationwide coverage area.” In addition, the changelist calls for “Current drain improvement when LTE data is turned off and Airplane Mode is turned on.”

Motorola is making its return to the high-end Android market with the Edge+ 5G and it is arguably the most underrated flagship in the U.S. market. To reiterate, locked to Verizon, the device will now work with both Verizon’s zippy Ultra Wideband service and the carrier’s slower 5G Nationwide service.