In their next major Android update, Google will be updating the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro with better support for T-Mobile’s latest network improvement, 3CA.
What is 3CA? Three-channel aggregation is a new addition of mid-band 5G spectrum that T-Mobile just started deploying across the United States recently. T-Mobile says that it managed to hit speeds of 3Gbps on the Galaxy S22 using 3CA.
At this moment in time, the Galaxy S22 series are the only devices that can officially use 3CA on T-Mobile, but the Pixel 7 seems set to follow closely behind.
Spotted first on Reddit, the Pixel 7 appears to add support for 3CA in the first release of the QPR2 Beta which Google surprised us all with last night. u/Starks shared a log which directly shows support for n41 and n71 combos, while n25 also appears to be supported, but didn’t show up in the log due to the area where the test was performed.
Unfortunately, some work will probably need to be done on T-Mobile’s side to actually get the Pixel 7 up and running on 3CA, but this is still great news. Older Pixel devices are likely not eligible for the new spectrum on a hardware level.
Google has just started the QPR2 beta program, with the final update set to arrive in March 2023. We don’t expect T-Mobile to unlock full support until that time.
More on Pixel 7:
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- $299 Pixel Watch, $499 Pixel 7, & $749 Pixel 7 Pro deals are back
- Review: Pixel 7 cases from Zagg offer sturdy protection and are 80% off right now
Author: Ben Schoon
Source: 9TO5Google
