5G Phone Hype?

[Rustic23]

I have no stake in 5G. However, I have watched tech for a long time, and 5G phones seem to be more hype than need. Yes 5g is fast, real fast, so my text will be instantaneous, rather than almost instantaneous. I will be able to download a movie is seconds, on my phone, and take an hour to watch it. I don't want to watch the latest Star Wars on a 3/6 inch screen.

My point is, phones are like computers of the 80's. Faster was more better. I upgraded every year. However, I was compiling programs that took six hours in 1980, and less than an hour by 1990. I no longer upgrade computers to gain speed. I don't upgrade for a better screen. I get a new one when the one I am using quits. I trade cars more often than computers.

So, today the talking heads were pondering just how great Apple Iphone sales were going to be when 5G came along, and how people would pay for the speed. I don't doubt some will, but I have reached the point where I don't need what they are selling, and I wonder how many others will feel this way.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

5G is more about how things will be processed vs. speed. Ideally, under a 5G system, programs will not reside on your device anymore, they will be "cloud based" which means that the processing speed will (as designed) be much faster. How this will all pan out, who knows. I think the cell companies are pushing this pretty hard because it's not going to be too long before the likes of Amazon and Google will have the earth covered in satellites making VERY FAST internet available to everyone, everywhere...thus making traditional cell phones all but obsolete.

 

[Rustic23]

I get 5G, and what it can and will do for computing. It latency factor is most likely more important than the raw speed. (or the combination there to) I just don't see the need for what it brings to a phone.

We live in an area where there is one internet provider. 5G promises to bring more providers to the area. *promises! While that will mean something for my 4K or 8K tv, streaming service etc, it does nothing for my phone. My tablet/laptop, quite possible.

I also agree, somewhat, with your comment about 'cell phones obsolete' i.e. 'cell' not phones. They will be internet devices, and the major phone companies will be internet providers competing with the satellite companies.

 

[JoeWras]

The hype is what ultimately led me to pull the plug and retire.

I worked in an associated industry. The "pause" that the promise of 5G is causing (i.e. waiting for the rollout) is also causing a lot of the ancillary suppliers pause. Ergo, job insecurity which ultimately lead me to change jobs for a while.

Then, I just realized it was a rat race and decided to just get out. Tired of tech trying to outdo tech, and as an engineer, having marketing people beat the snot out of us telling us to work 24/7 to beat the competition, only to wake up one day and be given a pink slip because of "the pause."

Whatever. The word "5G" just irritates the crap out of me.

 

[RunningBum]

5 G would work well as a hotspot. It could go up against the landline internet carries at your house. It won't match fiber, but for some (many?) it will be good enough. Perhaps more laptops and tablets will have built in 5G reception, or you could use your phone as a hot spot.

 

[Katiek]

I was at the pharmacy last weekend and saw a guy and his wife in the hair color section. She was looking for a particular shade of golden brown which apparently was 4G. He kept bugging her to get medium golden brown (which was 5G). When she asked him why he snarkily responded "it will be faster". I was just walking behind them, but I burst out laughing.

 

[GrayHare]

With the rapid phone upgrade cycle, so much that is otherwise fine winds up in the landfill, while more energy is consumed making a new model that's only marginally better than the previous. Hate to see the waste, and the bad effects on the environment.

 

[Kwirk]

I'm not much interested in 5G for the phone. I am curious to see what it may do for home internet service. Increased competition for Comcast can't be a bad thing.

 

[dirtbiker]

I have no stake in 5G. However, I have watched tech for a long time, and 5G phones seem to be more hype than need. Yes 5g is fast, real fast, so my text will be instantaneous, rather than almost instantaneous. I will be able to download a movie is seconds, on my phone, and take an hour to watch it. I don't want to watch the latest Star Wars on a 3/6 inch screen.

My point is, phones are like computers of the 80's. Faster was more better. I upgraded every year. However, I was compiling programs that took six hours in 1980, and less than an hour by 1990. I no longer upgrade computers to gain speed. I don't upgrade for a better screen. I get a new one when the one I am using quits. I trade cars more often than computers.

So, today the talking heads were pondering just how great Apple Iphone sales were going to be when 5G came along, and how people would pay for the speed. I don't doubt some will, but I have reached the point where I don't need what they are selling, and I wonder how many others will feel this way.

As long as 'unlimited' data plan speeds are throttled after a rather low data cap, I have absolutely zero use for 5G speeds. For everything I do on a phone, the current data speeds are faster than I need where I live. However, if data caps are removed, I would absolutely get rid of my cable internet and use the 5G phone hotspot as my home internet. Until then, 5G availability won't even factor into any phone purchase.

I do think that eventually 5G (or a future faster version) data will eventually become truly unlimited and will compete directly with landline internet for home use.

 

[Bamaman]

When 4G came in, it was lauded as the best thing since apple pie. It was just 3G on steroids.

My cousin is a PhD. level computer scientist (retired) who worked for a government contractor. He was telling me some of the things real 5G is going to produce for the market. Of course, he was talking over my head as I don't even carry a cell phone.

He said 5G is going to be a really big deal. I didn't know that Bluetooth on cell phones is already tracking our shopping habits in stores like Target and Walmart as we walk from place to place in the stores. Stand in one place too long and buy nothing and they'll be sending ads (and often discounts) on those items before you get to the front door.

 

[RetireBy90]

I seem to remember banking only from my PC before 4G, my thinking is that we will use cell in ways we don’t even think of today. Then, some of the hype is that cell users that would have upgraded to a new phone are waiting for 5G phones. I’ve been told by industry folks that phones won’t be initial benefit of 5G but new uses beyond phones.

 

[dirtbiker]

The thing I'm most looking forward to with 5G phones is Apple stock appreciation when a massive cell phone upgrade cycle begins by people who need the latest and greatest, even if it is of no meaningful benefit to them.

 

[steelyman]

I didn't know that Bluetooth on cell phones is already tracking our shopping habits in stores like Target and Walmart as we walk from place to place in the stores. Stand in one place too long and buy nothing and they'll be sending ads (and often discounts) on those items before you get to the front door.

I saw an article about this in the NYT recently. Apparently Bluetooth beacons can be placed in stores and determine your location quite accurately. Store-specific apps (e.g., the Lowes one I have for the home supply company) communicate the information for targeted marketing.

My takeaway was that you can disable Bluetooth on your way in or remove the app from your phone. I don’t know if disabling location services at the top level matters.

 

[Mdlerth]

Holding out for 7G

Long before I buy a 5G device, the hype will have moved on to 6G.

I've concluded I don't need to know anything about how each of these iterations works or differs from its predecessor. There is a clear pattern of rapid obsolescence which shows no sign of ending.

 

[MichaelB]

I saw an article about this in the NYT recently. Apparently Bluetooth beacons can be placed in stores and determine your location quite accurately. Store-specific apps (e.g., the Lowes one I have for the home supply company) communicate the information for targeted marketing.

My takeaway was that you can disable Bluetooth on your way in or remove the app from your phone. I don’t know if disabling location services at the top level matters.

I usually keep Bluetooth disabled, as it uses a fair amount of battery. Store tracking by Bluetooth is relatively recent but has lots of potential for merchants, and for sure FB will be heavily involved. Even without the battery drain it makes sense to keep Bluetooth turned off unless needed.

One upcoming impediment will be the iPhone “find my phone” function, which will use Bluetooth, although I’m not sure if it will be a requirement or just an additional feature.

 

[MichaelB]

I don’t think 5G is hype, but the price of new phones is pretty high and the 5G performance improvement isn’t really enough to expect a large scale consumer upgrade IMO.

Business is often a early stage adapter of new functionality, and that may happen here.

 

[Cobra9777]

5G is the infrastructure that's going to allow real-time car-to-car communication in a world of autonomous vehicles that are constantly learning from each other. Your vehicle will also communicate with traffic signals and other sensors that create smart cities and highways. At home, it may replace fixed wireline broadband altogether, if satellite doesn't do it first. Smart factories, IoT, AI, VR... 5G provides the ultra-high-speed, low-latency mobile connectivity that will allow all these things to become practical, including applications no one has even thought of yet.

I can assure you it has absolutely nothing to do with sending faster text messages on your smartphone. It is so much more than just the next iterative generation of wireless data communication. Sure, maybe there is some hype in there. Especially since it will take a LONG time for all this to happen. I have no interest whatsoever in buying a 5G phone next year or the year after. But I'll probably be the first on my block to subscribe to an on-demand autonomous car service. So, hype or not, I'm following 5G with some enthusiasm and optimism for what the future holds.

 

[steelyman]

One upcoming impediment will be the iPhone “find my phone” function, which will use Bluetooth, although I’m not sure if it will be a requirement or just an additional feature.

That sounds right about Bluetooth power consumption. It’s especially noticeable if you have a bum battery.

I didn’t know that about Find My Phone which I’ve enabled but never had to use (thankfully). Find My Friends is very nice when you go off on vacation with a group and one or more have a tendency to wander off in search of (whatever).

 

[donheff]

I looked into it a while back and figured it could be a big deal when it fully rolls out but saw no advantage of paying now for 5G ready devices. The payout is down the road so we can wait until 5G devices are all we can get. I have to admit that once I reached that conclusion I promptly forgot what all the big deal details are. I guess that means I can wait till they trickle down and watch for posts here asking how we like this and that.

If the Garner hype cycle is on the money it is safe to go back to sleep for a while.

 

[JoeWras]

If the Garner hype cycle is on the money it is safe to go back to sleep for a while.

Ouch! That picture gave me flashbacks!

20 years ago I worked on ipv6. It was a pain. It was complicated. We kept getting beat up to do it NOW, yet we all kind of knew this was just a firedrill.

Flash forward to today. ipv6 is now just gaining traction. That's why Gartner put it on the "enlightenment" slope, but notice it has a 5 to 10 year window before full acceptance. It will happen. Nobody thought ipv6 would be a 30 year process. It was.

I'm not saying 5G will take 30 years, however, it will take some time. The big problem is people are pretty happy now with 4G LTE. There are significant benefits from 5G, but until people start a buzz about them, the service providers will struggle to roll it out. A bit of a chicken and egg.

BTW, 5G also has significant pushback from various entities from neighborhood groups not liking the appearance, to technical groups concerned about spectrum noise, to environmental groups, to just plain "interesting" people who read something on the internet and started a movement against it.

 

[ncbill]

Ouch! That picture gave me flashbacks!

20 years ago I worked on ipv6. It was a pain. It was complicated. We kept getting beat up to do it NOW, yet we all kind of knew this was just a firedrill.

Flash forward to today. ipv6 is now just gaining traction. That's why Gartner put it on the "enlightenment" slope, but notice it has a 5 to 10 year window before full acceptance. It will happen. Nobody thought ipv6 would be a 30 year process. It was.

I'm not saying 5G will take 30 years, however, it will take some time. The big problem is people are pretty happy now with 4G LTE. There are significant benefits from 5G, but until people start a buzz about them, the service providers will struggle to roll it out. A bit of a chicken and egg.

BTW, 5G also has significant pushback from various entities from neighborhood groups not liking the appearance, to technical groups concerned about spectrum noise, to environmental groups, to just plain "interesting" people who read something on the internet and started a movement against it.

Yep, right now I'm using AT&T's unlimited LTE "tablet" plan (moved the SIM to a hotspot after setting it up in a tablet) for travel/backup...$34.99/month, no taxes/fees on broadband here.

It would probably work just fine for me as primary internet access, and the price is right. Theoretically it can be throttled but others using that plan report they never have been.

 

[NW-Bound]

I hope 5G will help people escape wild fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, etc..., if the infrastructure still works during those calamities.

I don't know if it will help alleviate droughts, heat waves, and nor'easters.

But if the technology push enriches the tech companies whose shares I own, then it is all good.

 

[davebarnes]

I have no stake in 5G.... I wonder how many others will feel this way.

Many. Including nerdy me.

On the other hand, 5G will allow Mark Zuckerberg to track me in real time. So, there is that.

 

[ransil]

Phone is my only internet at my house so i have a need for speed.

 

[Rustic23]

Cobra9777

I agree with what you said. My point , the hype is you just got to have a 5g phone, well, because it's 5g! People will spend $1,000 or more because, well it's 5g. Apple, Samsung, and Google will push the new tech, because, you guessed it you need 5g.

Bottom line, 5g will change how we do business and a whole lot of things. However, the phone is fast enough now, and 5g, IMHO, will do little for those that buy into the hype. My post was not to challenge the need for 5g, but to see is others felt the same when it comes to phones.