Mobile

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 With LTE Hits FCC, Does Not Support U.S. 4G Bands

Alexandra Burlacu

The LTE model of the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 was spotted in a regulatory filing with the Federal Communications Commission, but it's not all good news.

After the HSPA+ version of the "phablet" made its way to the FCC, it was only a matter of time until the Galaxy Mega 6.3 LTE model followed suit. The LTE version was indeed spotted at the regulator, but the device seems to have support only for LTE band 5 (850MHz), which is not used by any U.S. carrier. In other words, the LTE version of the 6.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Mega does not support 4G LTE bands in the U.S.

This means that this particular model — GT-I9205 — will likely not hit U.S. shores anytime soon. Those who buy it elsewhere, meanwhile, will not be able to connect to existing 4G LTE networks in the U.S., which ruins the whole purpose of getting the LTE version of the device to begin with.

The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 is the company's biggest smartphone/ phablet to date, part of a new Galaxy sub-range of devices. The other member of this subfamily is the Galaxy Mega 5.8, another phablet but with no 4G flavor.

Samsung announced the two Galaxy Mega handsets awhile ago, and the initial press release said the devices will launch in international markets first. The bigger version of the device already made two FCC appearances to date, but Samsung has yet to mention any launch plans for the U.S.

With the two Samsung Galaxy Mega handsets, Samsung is again pushing the limits of display size in a bid to offer the best of phones and tablets in just one device that can serve as both. The shift toward increasingly bigger screens is visible, but can a 6.3-inch device pass as a smartphone?

It remains unclear at this point exactly which markets will get the Samsung Galaxy Mega devices first, but Russia was specifically named when Samsung announced the handsets. The South Korean tech giant offered no pricing details yet for the mid-range Galaxy Megas. More details will likely become available closer to the projected May European launch timeframe. 

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