The prospect of 5G phones is on the minds of millions of Americans and billions worldwide. We’ve seen the commercials, the print ads, and every other conceivable form of marketing promising faster speeds and better coverage, but what does it all mean? How will the smartphone of tomorrow be different than the smartphone of today? Get to know some of the things to expect over the next two, five, even ten years as 5G continues to evolve and take the way we communicate wirelessly to places it has never been before.
Enjoy Better Battery Life
We should start here by saying this is going to be a recurring theme but…this is going to take time. We’re looking at the beginning as a potential for shortened battery life as other generations before it but with significant improvement as the technology moves forward. A feature that may help 5G phones in the beginning, however, is that many phones will be both 5G and 4G LTE compatible with 4G LTE using much less battery when in use. And with mmWave (high band) 5G being the fastest spectrum in 5G and not readily available in many markets, expect to bounce between the two in the beginning.
But the future is coming and the fact is that batteries continue to improve and 5G will help them do so. One of the drawbacks of 4G and previous generations is their download speeds which, of course, 5G is here to improve. When your phone is in use and spending a considerable effort to download data it is putting a strain on its battery. So, even while 4G LTE may help your phone while you have a strong connection when you are experiencing connectivity issues when you are in an area with a weak signal, and when you are downloading larger amounts of data at once, your current battery is under duress. When 5G is implemented nationwide, this will be a lot less common as faster speeds mean less strain on your battery.
Improved Connectivity With Other Devices
A wonderful benefit that 5G will bring has nothing to do with phones at all but rather all devices connected by the Internet. Your laptop, smart home devices, and even your digital personal assistants will be greatly influenced and enhanced by 5G networks. This doesn’t mean that your phone won’t benefit from these actions, however. Expect your phone to communicate with a lot more than that text group you can’t get out of. We already use apps to control our security systems, interact with codes in public, lower our home’s temperature, and even to hail a ride, but what happens when our phones learn more from us and can do these things on their own? What about connecting with devices to collaborate and work on creative projects seamlessly using a variety of applications and transferring data at speeds never seen before? 5G is prepared to take us there through the Internet of Things (IoT), the concept of creating devices that can communicate with little to no input from humans. The power of 5G will allow the smartphones we use to enhance our experience through smart learning and data transfer capabilities they will enable our devices to perform.
Your Phone Will Support Greater Data Transfer
We’ve talked a bit about the ability to transfer more data through 5G at a faster rate, but one of the best aspects of this feature is the unknown. Technological advances bring forth some of the greatest parts of mankind, with a focus on creativity. The true power of 5G is years away and we already have companies working on a variety of ways to develop a faster tomorrow. Remote workers, creators of all kinds, and innovators will be empowered to work from around the world on projects that will improve our future in a variety of industries.
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