Do you want to upgrade your phone from 4G to 5G and you are wondering if you should wait instead to buy a 5G phone in India in 2022? Or if you want to find out between 4G or 5G which one is better, look no further. All your questions will be answered in this article.
One of the biggest questions of 2022 is if you should buy a 4G phone or 5G phone in India. Some smartphone brands are already launching 5G phones in India. It is important to think through making that decision to buy a 5G phone in 2022 in India.
Smartphones have become an increasing necessity and desirable amongst over 6.6 billion people in the world today. The next generation of smartphones will be expected to support the next level of connectivity – 5G technology. 5G technology is going to power growth in the Indian economy within the next few years. 5G smartphones are already being launched in India and they are available at almost any price range. If you are thinking of waiting to get a 5G phone, this is all you need to know.
If you want to buy a 5G phone now, it is advised that you hold on to your 4G phone for now because 5G technology may not be available in India until the next 2 years. It is best to hold on to your 4G phones because the 5G network is not currently available in India. You should also consider where you live. If you live far away from the main city, it is not a good idea to buy a 5G phone now.
When 5G technology is available, it is expected to be expensive as it will be bundled with many benefits. So if you have a good broadband at home with good speeds then you are better off sticking with your 4G phone or purchasing a 4G phone instead – if you have a 3G phone.
After discussions with the operators that will ensure India has 5G connectivity, smartphone makers have promised to manufacture phones that support the appropriate band for 5G connectivity. Also there is no need to buy a 5G phone right now because currently it is overpriced.
4G or 5G which is better?
If you are wondering if a 4G phone is better than 5G, yes it is. You will get higher download speeds with 5G networks. 5G networks have the capacity to improve download speeds 20 times faster while decreasing latency – response time between devices. The benefits of these speeds will significantly improve browsing experience.
The 5G network also promises to have a hyper-interconnected ecosystem to bring the much desired smart cities to life. This will also largely depend on the bandwidth of the Internet of Things. 5G is expected to revolutionize medicine, traffic management, and the autonomous vehicle industry. It is also expected to do the same in the construction sector to reduce risks and optimize resources.
Buying a strong specification of 4G phones instead of 5G is better for you right now. It took many years for India to spread 4G networks across the country and this is still ongoing. So there is no way that when 5G is ready to rollout that it will immediately be available for connectivity. It will take a considerable amount of time before it can reach everyone in India.
The 4G network was launched in 2008 but it only came to India in 2012 by Airtel. But until 2016, many people had not yet started using it. So if you currently have a 3G phone, this is the best time to upgrade to 4G. So many phone manufacturers have made excellent 4G phones with great features. A great 4G phone you can upgrade to in India is the Redmi Note 10 Pro.
Some people worry if 4G phones will stop working if the 5G is rolled out. The answer is no. Your 4G phone will remain functional even after 5G is rolled out. 4G will still be around at least for the next 5-7 years. Another good news is that 5G phones will still support 4G.
When will 5G roll out in India? Reliance Industries revealed that the Jio 5G phone will launch in India by the end of 2021. So far, that is yet to happen, but there are hopes that it will be out by the end of 2022.
How does the 5G network operate?
5G is the fifth generation of wireless networks. It will provide data networks far more than 4G, 3G, and so on. You can expect to feel it in your home, car, your phones, and in the city and town around you. Downloads and streaming will happen much faster without any delays. In terms of autonomous vehicles, cars will talk to each other to prevent collisions and augmented and virtual reality can finally be achieved with real-time response. There are also industrial benefits, for example, remote surgeries or drone control. 5G does is made possible by three key abilities:
- High bandwidth – 4G could only create about 200 megabits per second of data throughput. Meanwhile, 5G can handle about one gigabit or more.
- Low latency – 4G suffers from around one hundred milliseconds in response delay (latency). 5G latency is as low as one millisecond. This means everything you do will happen immediately.
- Dense connections – in given square kilometers, 4G can only manage to connect about one-tenth the number of devices as 5G.
This is very impressive but how does 5G do all these? 5G uses new radio technology. It uses radio frequencies in a band known as sub 6 (600MHz to 6GHz), part of which is also used by current 4G models. 5G will use a higher band of radio frequencies from 24GHz to 86Ghz. These much higher frequencies come with much higher data rates. Now, these 5G radio waves can produce more data with higher performance, they can’t carry it as far. So 5G will use a lot of small cells on towers. As a result, we will need new phones, laptops, tablets, etc. with a 5G radio inside to connect to the new 5G networks. 5G will produce more data and computing resources closer to you that will avoid weakening its low latency benefits.
Is 5G safe?
5G has concerns about the safety of cellular radio waves and some countries have taken action to block 5G deployment. There are also health concerns about 5Gs use of microwave frequency, but this already takes place with anything that has WiFi enabled on it. Like your phone, wireless headphones, earbuds, laptops, etc. But even 5Gs frequency is considered by scientists to be non-ionizing radiation. You have to move on up to x rays, gamma rays, and cosmic radiation to find the kind of emissions that will harm cells. So 5G is far below that because it follows the inverse square law – losing power rapidly at even a small distance from the small cell. The CDC in the US says that there is no scientific evidence to provide a definite answer to the question of cellular radio wave safety, whether it’s 3G, 4G, or 5G.
5G technology has its disadvantages. The transition from 4G to 5G will require devices that can support it. This means that 4G devices will immediately become unusable. Its implementation will mean that it will be inaccessible to some because it will be expensive. It requires a lot of investment to create functional infrastructure, expand coverage and increase bandwidth. Implementation will take a long time. This is another reason why you should not wait to buy a 5G phone. 5G technology requires high-quality data management practices and this is where there will be issues. More data means more need for our data to be used ethically so that privacy is achieved amid all this connectivity.
However, there is one good reason to buy a 5G phone. If you plan to buy a phone now so that you will use it within the next two to five years, then yes you don’t need to wait to buy it.
5G is a great technology that is quickly becoming a reality. And soon it will touch the lives of many just like previous technologies.
If you choose to buy a 5G phone, then consider the following.
- Check the band before you buy. Some companies are providing one or two bands, which is deceptive. These will not work because the band is limited.
- The phone should have five to seven bands. With this number then your phone will work perfectly in the future.
5G will be worth the wait as it will offer the world we had been promised for a long time.