Believe it or not, 5G is now three years old. Launched in 2019, it became relatively widely available in 2020 and coverage increased significantly in 2021. As is to be expected, smartphones with 5G antenna became available soon after its launch, initially only on expensive, flagship phones. It is now widely available on smartphones in most price brackets, but should you buy one that is 5G capable? It comes at an extra cost, but there are other reasons they aren’t needed. We take a look at the top three reasons why you don’t need a 5G smartphone in 2022.
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If you have a 4G phone, or can find one for a reasonable price, there is no reason to spend the extra cash on a more expensive 5G capable model.
We haven’t properly tapped into 5G
The new technology isn’t without its problems. Sometimes, it doesn’t work as advertised. There are two versions of 5G: sub-6GHz and mmWave. If you’re tapping into 5G in most places in South Africa, you’re most likely connecting to sub-5GHz, which is faster than 4G LTE on paper. However, in practice, sub-6Ghz can often yield similar results as 4G LTE. Depending on the range, sub-6GHz could only results in speeds around 10Mbps. Even on average, sub-6GHz drags average 5G speeds down that they are still very similar in speeds, according to this study.
As a power user, there is no noticeable benefits of using 5G while traveling and using Google Maps. When you occasionally want to see videos on-the-go, and you turn to YouTube or Netflix, 4G will be more than good enough. There are usually no buffer or loading screens, and content often loads in a matter of seconds. While 5G – in theory – eliminates ever seeing the loading screen, it can happen, depending on the traffic and your location to the nearest tower.
mmWave 5G adoption is slow
The 5G mmWave technology is a true game-changer, and it lets you download at upwards of 1Gbps. Downloading the entire series of your favourite TV show could take only a few seconds, and it could have a massive impact on machine learning, and autonomous driving technologies.
Big companies are already using it where possible, but it’s still unavailable outside less densely populated areas. mmWave can’t travel as far as sub-6Ghz; therefore, the speeds are much slower. Sub-6Ghz is easier to install, and it’s widely available worldwide, while mmWave is behind as it requires more hardware and more towers.
4G is available everywhere and its reliable
4G might not be as fast as 5G, but it’s available in most rural places and the countryside. It provides great speeds even when you’re in the middle of nowhere, and it works for the most part. 4G is also stable; it lets you easily browse the web, make calls, and even make video calls with friends and family.
