Skip to main content

T-Mobile shows off how incredibly fast gigabit LTE is on the Samsung Galaxy S8

t mobile gigabit lte galaxy s8 samsug
Image used with permission by copyright holder
A new generation of 4G LTE is here, and boy, is it fast. LTE connections are getting better and better, but no matter how good your carrier is, you probably aren’t hitting the same speeds the new Samsung Galaxy S8 is on T-Mobile.

In a new video, T-Mobile demonstrates just how fast its new gigabit connection is on the Galaxy S8 — speeds flirted with a massive 1Gbps. Sure, you probably won’t hit those kinds of speeds in real life — but the fact is that this is a pretty significant jump in mobile data speeds.

All of this is made possible by the Galaxy S8’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip, which comes with Qualcomm’s latest X16 LTE modem. That modem is capable of handling new gigabit LTE data speeds — but that obviously also requires gigabit LTE from your carrier.

“You know what happens when you combine the most advanced LTE network in the country with Samsung’s most powerful phone ever? An entire industry has to redefine the word ‘fast.’” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile, in a statement.

It’s important to note that T-Mobile’s gigabit LTE connection isn’t available to the public just yet. The test seen in the video was conducted in T-Mobile’s Bellevue, Washington, lab.

The fact that we’re seeing the new internet speeds now is no coincidence — the Samsung Galaxy S8 is actually the first device available with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, and thus the first phone to be made available that is capable of LTE speeds. We’ll definitely see more phones with the capability this year, especially once the Snapdragon 835 starts coming out on more phones. Gigabit LTE is already live in Australia, and carriers in the U.S. have been experimenting with it a lot over the past few months, so it likely won’t be long until it’s available in the U.S. Sprint in particular has been building the infrastructure for gigabit LTE in 100 markets, and it should launch in major cities in the near future.

Check out the video of the Samsung Galaxy S8 on gigabit LTE below.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Speed Test on T-Mobile’s LTE Network

Editors' Recommendations

Christian de Looper
Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…
Samsung may have made a horrible decision with the Galaxy S24
The Samsung Galaxy S24 standing upright next to the Galaxy S24 Plus.

The big Android dogs from Samsung  —the Galaxy S24 series — are out to challenge the smartphone supremacy crown in 2024. There are minor design improvements, a faster chip, a slightly tweaked camera, a big jump in thermal management capacity, and loads of AI hype around them.

Some of those AI features come courtesy of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy silicon, while others are built in-house or with some help from Google. But behind the scenes, Samsung has again employed a controversial two-chip sales formula.

Read more
Don’t buy the Samsung Galaxy S24 — 5 reasons to wait for the Galaxy S25
The Samsung Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra seen from the back.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus (left) and Galaxy S24 Ultra Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Samsung’s next Unpacked event has come and gone, and it revealed the next generation of its main flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S24 series. Whether you're interested in the base Galaxy S24 or the flagship Galaxy S24 Ultra — or want to go right in the middle with the S24 Plus — all three phones are worth checking out.

Read more
There’s something Samsung didn’t tell you about the Galaxy S24
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in its launch colors.

“Look, dude, I don’t know how they are going to manage the costs of licensing from AI companies and cloud partnerships, among other associated factors. Nothing comes free.” That’s what a machine learning engineer told me a few days ago when I explained to him how Qualcomm and MediaTek are bringing some neat generative AI tricks to phones.

Well, Samsung has confirmed those fears and quietly dropped the bombshell that at least some of its snazzy AI tricks for the Galaxy S24 series phones will eventually ask you to cough up some cash. That’s going to happen next year, but we don’t know how much you'll have to pay and in what way — at least not right now.

Read more