I read this as indication that any new models introduced in T-Mo stores will support this - not necessarily that models such as the Nexus 5 that had been available before the PR would necessarily be included. But it still gives me hope and what I think may be a reasonable expectation that the Nexus 5 (and even Nexus 4) may soon enjoy this ability as well. Below are a few assumptions and my reasoning....
1) T-Mo will offer the Nexus 6 for sale in their stores. Given the sales success of the Nexus 5 for T-Mo, and the anticipation surrounding the Nexus 6, it seems unthinkable that T-Mo would even consider otherwise.
2) The reason that the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 do not enjoy Wi-Fi calling on T-Mo's network is not because T-Mo specifically wants to deprive the users of those devices, because those devices are unaltered Nexus, not privy to the specific additional software/firmware T-Mo adds to the carrier-specific devices they sell.
3) T-Mo will not offer a carrier-specific version of the Nexus 6 to allow them to add code enabling Wi-Fi calling. To do so both defies the fundamental concept of Nexus and also would substantially hinder their ability to cater to those who buy their Nexus 6 directly from Google Play, or to attract customers who currently have their Nexus 6 with another carrier, as those customers' phones would not offer that functionality.
4) Given the above, there are only a few ways for the Nexus 6 to be compatible:
- Nexus 6 will have some native characteristic that Nexus 4 & 5 have lacked, enabling it to meet T-Mo's existing requirements for Wi-Fi calling.
This seems extremely unlikely since, afaik, T-Mo has had to implement proprietary software/firmware to devices to allow for it. Of course, if it were something inherent to Android L that enabled it, the earlier Nexus will also also, upon update, enjoy compatibility.
- T-Mo will be changing the manner by which they perform Wi-Fi calling such that additional software is not required.
Providing that it is even technologically feasible, the second doesn't seem too far-fetched, but it would open up a potential 'pandora's box' of customer support issues for those customers with phones that might be later determined to 'not play well' with Wi-Fi calling -- currently, T-Mo can control quality of service by managing which models are able to use the service.
- T-Mo will introduce an app to the Play store to enable Wi-Fi calling and SMS for those devices (e.g., Nexus, 'BYO' phones, etc) onto which T-mobile wouldn't have loaded their software directly.
A Play store app seems entirely plausible to me as it shouldn't require any substantial changes to their current system, would allow for people to bring their phones from other carriers and enjoy Wi-Fi calling and would still allow T-Mo to identify and block select model phones a customer might choose to purchase elsewhere or carry over from another carrier if T-Mo determines that it does not work well in this capacity, by not making it 'compatible' and available for direct download for those models.
In consideration of the above, I can't really envision a realistic scenario by which we should not expect to enjoy Wi-Fi calling on T-Mo soon.
So, to those of you who successfully scaled my Olympian Wall o' Text, am I missing something, or does my assessment make sense? If the Nexus 6 will support Wi-Fi calling on T-Mo and the Nexus 5 will not, I'll almost certainly upgrade; if the Nexus 5 will gain this ability, along with the other benefits due to arrive with Android L (including a notable increase in battery life), I'll likely stay with the 5 another year.
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