T-Mobile has two new 5G smartphones launching later this year, and this week the carrier confirmed a bit of good news for anyone thinking about buying one of them.
The T-Mobile OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition and Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G will work with Sprint's mid-band 5G if T-Mo and Sprint are allowed to merge. T-Mobile confirmed the news to PCMag, adding that the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G that T-Mo currently sells will also support Sprint mid-band 5G if the merger is completed.
Both the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition and Galaxy Note 10+ 5G will work on T-Mobile's 600MHz 5G network, which T-Mo has said will cover 200 million people by the end of this year. With today's news, both phones have been future-proofed a bit, because it means that T-Mo customers buying the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G or Note 10+ 5G won't have to buy a whole new phone to benefit from T-Mobile merging Sprint's 5G network with its own.
T-Mobile currently offers has 5G coverage using millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum in parts of six U.S. cities: Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and New York City. The Galaxy S10 5G that T-Mo is selling right now can access that mmWave 5G, but it won't be able to use the 600MHz 5G that T-Mobile is launching later this year. Meanwhile, the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G and Note 10+ 5G will support T-Mobile's 600MHz 5G, but it won't work on the mmWave 5G network.
The T-Mobile and Sprint merger has been approved by both the U.S. Department of Justice and FCC, but it's facing a lawsuit from more than 15 state attorneys general who want to block the deal because they feel that it will harm competition and raise prices for consumers. T-Mobile and Sprint have said that they won't close their merger until that lawsuit is finished. The trial is set to begin on December 9th.
