Cell phones, or more specifically, smart phones, have become an important part of our daily lives, and even our culture over the past seven years or so. Ever since the release of the original iPhone in 2007, the way we communicate on a regular basis, and the way we use our cell phones, has undergone a revolution. No longer are our phones just outlets for the occasional call or text to friends or family, they are a portal to a massive array of things – reliable, easy to use Internet access has opened the door for the growth of social media, the app market, digital music, and more. Our phones have become so much more than what they once were, and their newfound usefulness has become an important part of our day- to-day lives.
That said, for about five years now we’ve been using fourth generation wireless Internet, more commonly known as “4G”. 4G and 3G have both offered reliable Internet access, with 4G offering a massive upgrade to speed and data amounts, and is essentially the standard at this point. 4G offers us the ability to reliably use things like Skype on our phones, and more easily stream video. So since science has been at this point for over five years now, the question is, where does cell-phone technology go next?
The answer lies in 5G. But when will that happen, and what will it mean for consumers? At this point, it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly 5G will bring with it. Speed is the first and most obvious advancement. Professionals seem to agree that 5G internet will be approximately 40 times faster than 4G, a staggering advancement. This will dwarf loading issues and download times, bringing the download of a full HD movie down to a negligible couple of seconds, and in the case of apps, songs, books and other small amounts of data, downloads could be nearly instantaneous. What other improvements could this cell technology bring with it though? What else could become possible? Things are much fuzzier here.
The most common idea would be the push for higher quality displays. When 5G hits, hyper high quality 4k displays, or possibly even 8k displays, may become available on phones. The files for video and photo in this quality are large, so a much faster speed will be required, which is why a speed brought on by 5G will be necessary.
The other major point of advancement could be 3D technology in phones. Phone manufacturers are working towards glasses-free 3D displays on cell phones, like the display on 3D TVs. The data for files of this type is much, much larger than even 8k video would be, so an improvement in internet connection would be necessary to make 3D technology worthwhile – people need to be able to reasonably download and stream 3D video.
5G is currently in development, and because of this it’s hard to say when it will become widely available. Most estimates say around 2020, only 5 years away. Of course, there’s the question of accessibility. How much money will 5G cost us relative to 4G? The current estimate is about $40 more, although prices will drop over time. As 5G becomes more commonplace, companies providing services get more competitive, technology improves, and prices will almost certainly drop. 5G is an exciting step forward for technology, and it’s exciting to see what other changes it could bring.