No, 1x was (barely) considered 3G when it launched. The 2G version of CDMA only supported Circuit Switched data, which was basically the cellular version of dialup (as in you literally had to dial up an ISP to be connected, and it was tethering-only to a laptop).

It looks like US Cellular covers Knoxville. They still have CDMA 3G operating, and will be shutting it down January 2024. Very likely your phone is connecting to them because it’s the only network it can find.

FYI, if you think the standard iOS interface might be too overwhelming or confusing, you can simplify things for your grandad using the Assistive Access Menu. This lets you pare down what he sees to the bare necessities.

Same. To me the new notifications sounds are more polished. And I have no trouble hearing them.

Same. To me the new notifications sounds are more polished. And I have no trouble hearing them.

That’s not lens flare.

The USB-C port on the iPhone 15 (non-Pro) is limited to 480Mbps. Theoretically this is the same as the lightning port speeds. This is because the non-Pro 15 models are running the A16 processor and controller.

iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max can support transfer speeds up to 10Gbps. But, you need the right cable. The one that comes with the phone in the box, and most USB-C charging cables, only support USB2.0 data speeds (480Mbps). You need a USB 3.1 Gen2 certified cable to get the full transfer speed out of the 15 Pro/Pro Max port.

Note that such cables tend to be kinda short… usually around 3 feet max.

Will it make a difference? That really depends on your wireless carrier. In some isolated cases I can exceed 480Mbps on Verizon and AT&T when I can get ultra Wideband 5G. Most of the the time I’m not hitting that limit though. And that’s on-device speeds. Tethered (hotspot) speeds are always de-prioritized.