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The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
  2. General Discussion
  3. 5G - is it worth the premium?

5G - is it worth the premium?

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  • kluursK kluurs

    My phone, an iPhone 7, is crippled. You cannot hear anyone when they call. I either must use my headphones or put the person on speaker to carry on a conversation. That might sound like a pain - but I don't get that many calls. I too am planning on getting the iPhone 12 when released. I'm curious if there's a best strategy to be at the front of the line for procuring one.

    George KG Offline
    George KG Offline
    George K
    wrote on last edited by
    #4

    @kluurs said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

    I'm curious if there's a best strategy to be at the front of the line for procuring one.

    Place the order when it's announced and hope for the best!

    "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

    The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

    1 Reply Last reply
    • Aqua LetiferA Aqua Letifer

      It'll be more worth it after the infrastructure is closer to ubiquitous. Not now, though.

      George KG Offline
      George KG Offline
      George K
      wrote on last edited by
      #5

      @Aqua-Letifer said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

      It'll be more worth it after the infrastructure is closer to ubiquitous. Not now, though.

      All it offers is more speed, right?

      For me, that's not an issue.

      "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

      The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

      Aqua LetiferA 1 Reply Last reply
      • George KG George K

        @Aqua-Letifer said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

        It'll be more worth it after the infrastructure is closer to ubiquitous. Not now, though.

        All it offers is more speed, right?

        For me, that's not an issue.

        Aqua LetiferA Offline
        Aqua LetiferA Offline
        Aqua Letifer
        wrote on last edited by
        #6

        @George-K said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

        @Aqua-Letifer said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

        It'll be more worth it after the infrastructure is closer to ubiquitous. Not now, though.

        All it offers is more speed, right?

        For me, that's not an issue.

        Pretty much, yeah.

        Please love yourself.

        1 Reply Last reply
        • AxtremusA Offline
          AxtremusA Offline
          Axtremus
          wrote on last edited by
          #7

          If you still live in a big city, you will be more likely to be able to benefit from real 5G speeds sooner (e.g., Verizon already has mmWave 5G infrastructure in Chicago). But the further away you are from big cities, the longer you will have to wait to get real 5G service. It will take a while for true 5G to reach most of the nation.

          AT&T's "5GE" is merely a marketing label for a revision of 4G/LTE that Verizon and T-Mobile also have. T-Mobile's advertising claim about its 5G signals going miles and miles is also misleading in that by the time the signals go the distance you can no longer sustain the higher 5G speeds and have to tall back to 4G/LTE speeds anyway. Verizon's mmWave 5G will use very high frequencies that require different antenna module/design, and it will also be rather limited in range; but when it works, the speed will be very fast. I suspect it's this mmWave stuff that's requiring extra/different hardware that add substantial costs to the baseline iPhone.

          KlausK 1 Reply Last reply
          • taiwan_girlT Offline
            taiwan_girlT Offline
            taiwan_girl
            wrote on last edited by
            #8

            I dont know much about it, but it does seem to be just a internet speed thing. So, if you not going to be streaming movies, downloading huge files, etc while using your data phone, it does not seem like it would be worth the extra money

            1 Reply Last reply
            • 89th8 Offline
              89th8 Offline
              89th
              wrote on last edited by
              #9

              I’m also waiting for the iPhone 12 to upgrade. I’ll also get the 5G if it’s an option. I’m not price sensitive when it comes to (relatively) cheap upgrades to something I use most of each day.

              So yes, @George-K i think it’s worth it.

              1 Reply Last reply
              • George KG Offline
                George KG Offline
                George K
                wrote on last edited by
                #10

                If I had to spend an extra $100 for a feature it would be

                1. Better camera
                2. Bettter (larger) display
                3. More storage
                4. Faster speed

                In that order. With #4 being far, far down the list. I'm on "WiFi calling" at least 90% of the time for phone calls, and it's really becoming rare to not find a WiFi network that I can connect to.

                Thanks, everyone, for confirming my biases.

                "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                1 Reply Last reply
                • kluursK kluurs

                  My phone, an iPhone 7, is crippled. You cannot hear anyone when they call. I either must use my headphones or put the person on speaker to carry on a conversation. That might sound like a pain - but I don't get that many calls. I too am planning on getting the iPhone 12 when released. I'm curious if there's a best strategy to be at the front of the line for procuring one.

                  jon-nycJ Offline
                  jon-nycJ Offline
                  jon-nyc
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #11

                  @kluurs said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                  I'm curious if there's a best strategy to be at the front of the line for procuring one.

                  Have Horace put in a good word for you?

                  Only non-witches get due process.

                  • Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
                  George KG 1 Reply Last reply
                  • jon-nycJ jon-nyc

                    @kluurs said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                    I'm curious if there's a best strategy to be at the front of the line for procuring one.

                    Have Horace put in a good word for you?

                    George KG Offline
                    George KG Offline
                    George K
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #12

                    @jon-nyc said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                    @kluurs said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                    I'm curious if there's a best strategy to be at the front of the line for procuring one.

                    Have Horace put in a good word for you?

                    alt text

                    "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                    The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    • AxtremusA Axtremus

                      If you still live in a big city, you will be more likely to be able to benefit from real 5G speeds sooner (e.g., Verizon already has mmWave 5G infrastructure in Chicago). But the further away you are from big cities, the longer you will have to wait to get real 5G service. It will take a while for true 5G to reach most of the nation.

                      AT&T's "5GE" is merely a marketing label for a revision of 4G/LTE that Verizon and T-Mobile also have. T-Mobile's advertising claim about its 5G signals going miles and miles is also misleading in that by the time the signals go the distance you can no longer sustain the higher 5G speeds and have to tall back to 4G/LTE speeds anyway. Verizon's mmWave 5G will use very high frequencies that require different antenna module/design, and it will also be rather limited in range; but when it works, the speed will be very fast. I suspect it's this mmWave stuff that's requiring extra/different hardware that add substantial costs to the baseline iPhone.

                      KlausK Offline
                      KlausK Offline
                      Klaus
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #13

                      @Axtremus any improvements in latency with 5G?

                      I also wonder whether the extremely short wave lengths (millimeters) enable new forms of antennas. I imagine that highly directional antennas, together with a rotation mechanism for the antenna, might be possible within a cell phone body. That could in part offset the shorter ranges of mm waves.

                      AxtremusA 1 Reply Last reply
                      • KlausK Klaus

                        @Axtremus any improvements in latency with 5G?

                        I also wonder whether the extremely short wave lengths (millimeters) enable new forms of antennas. I imagine that highly directional antennas, together with a rotation mechanism for the antenna, might be possible within a cell phone body. That could in part offset the shorter ranges of mm waves.

                        AxtremusA Offline
                        AxtremusA Offline
                        Axtremus
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #14

                        @Klaus said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                        @Axtremus any improvements in latency with 5G?

                        I also wonder whether the extremely short wave lengths (millimeters) enable new forms of antennas. I imagine that highly directional antennas, together with a rotation mechanism for the antenna, might be possible within a cell phone body. That could in part offset the shorter ranges of mm waves.

                        Generally (at least in theory), there can be one order of magnitude's reduction in latency going from 4G to 5G air interface. In practice, apart from air interface technology, there are a lot in the wired parts of the overall network that contribute to latency. So how the service provider architect the overall network will significantly impact the latency actually experienced by the end users.

                        As a matter of design, antenna dimension is always influenced by wavelengths. So yes, the significantly shorter wavelengths will allow designs that would not have been as effective for the longer wavelengths. Directional antenna is also a useful concept. Though I don't think mechanically rotated antennae will be in the cards inside consumer cellphones. Most likely it will be limited to DSP shaped "rotation" a la "beam forming" rather than mechanical rotation of the physical antennae.

                        KlausK 1 Reply Last reply
                        • CopperC Offline
                          CopperC Offline
                          Copper
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #15

                          With democrats in power, the number of people spying on your phone will grow.

                          You’ll need the bandwidth.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          • AxtremusA Axtremus

                            @Klaus said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                            @Axtremus any improvements in latency with 5G?

                            I also wonder whether the extremely short wave lengths (millimeters) enable new forms of antennas. I imagine that highly directional antennas, together with a rotation mechanism for the antenna, might be possible within a cell phone body. That could in part offset the shorter ranges of mm waves.

                            Generally (at least in theory), there can be one order of magnitude's reduction in latency going from 4G to 5G air interface. In practice, apart from air interface technology, there are a lot in the wired parts of the overall network that contribute to latency. So how the service provider architect the overall network will significantly impact the latency actually experienced by the end users.

                            As a matter of design, antenna dimension is always influenced by wavelengths. So yes, the significantly shorter wavelengths will allow designs that would not have been as effective for the longer wavelengths. Directional antenna is also a useful concept. Though I don't think mechanically rotated antennae will be in the cards inside consumer cellphones. Most likely it will be limited to DSP shaped "rotation" a la "beam forming" rather than mechanical rotation of the physical antennae.

                            KlausK Offline
                            KlausK Offline
                            Klaus
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #16

                            @Axtremus thanks. I know a little about radio waves (former ham radio operator). Wouldn't even the smallest barriers, such as walls, block mm waves?

                            If phones could hook into external antennas, it would be cool to consider long wave communication, too. It would be nice if a cell phone would still work inside a submarine underwater.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • AxtremusA Offline
                              AxtremusA Offline
                              Axtremus
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #17

                              Yes, shorter waves are more easily blocked, then you have to resort to reflections, which adds distance (further path loss) and multi path complications. Many transmittal disadvantages to short waves. The advantage is that there is typically more bandwidth with short waves.

                              Suppose you say let’s cap the frequencies you use to below the 1 MHz, then the bandwidth you get to exploit will also be no more than 1 MHz.

                              Take Wi-Fi, for example, in the 2.4GHz band, Wi-Fi is allowed to take advantage of up to 40 MHz bandwidth for a channel. At the 5GHz band, Wi-Fi is allowed to use up to 160MHz for a channel — all without crowding out TV/radio broadcasting or cellular communications.

                              Cellular 5G’s mmWave specifications go beyond 6GHz, more room to play with wider channels to allow higher bandwidth. The trade offs are shorter distance and weaker penetration. Wi-Fi’s 802.11ax extends also to 6GHz and faces similar tradeoffs as a matter of physics. 802.11ad/ay pushes Wi-Fi into the 60GHz territory with 2GHz channel bandwidth. The speed vs. range tradeoffs there will be even more acute.

                              George KG KlausK 2 Replies Last reply
                              • AxtremusA Axtremus

                                Yes, shorter waves are more easily blocked, then you have to resort to reflections, which adds distance (further path loss) and multi path complications. Many transmittal disadvantages to short waves. The advantage is that there is typically more bandwidth with short waves.

                                Suppose you say let’s cap the frequencies you use to below the 1 MHz, then the bandwidth you get to exploit will also be no more than 1 MHz.

                                Take Wi-Fi, for example, in the 2.4GHz band, Wi-Fi is allowed to take advantage of up to 40 MHz bandwidth for a channel. At the 5GHz band, Wi-Fi is allowed to use up to 160MHz for a channel — all without crowding out TV/radio broadcasting or cellular communications.

                                Cellular 5G’s mmWave specifications go beyond 6GHz, more room to play with wider channels to allow higher bandwidth. The trade offs are shorter distance and weaker penetration. Wi-Fi’s 802.11ax extends also to 6GHz and faces similar tradeoffs as a matter of physics. 802.11ad/ay pushes Wi-Fi into the 60GHz territory with 2GHz channel bandwidth. The speed vs. range tradeoffs there will be even more acute.

                                George KG Offline
                                George KG Offline
                                George K
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #18

                                @Axtremus said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                                Wi-Fi’s 802.11ax

                                You just made that up, didn't you?

                                "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                                The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                                AxtremusA 1 Reply Last reply
                                • AxtremusA Axtremus

                                  Yes, shorter waves are more easily blocked, then you have to resort to reflections, which adds distance (further path loss) and multi path complications. Many transmittal disadvantages to short waves. The advantage is that there is typically more bandwidth with short waves.

                                  Suppose you say let’s cap the frequencies you use to below the 1 MHz, then the bandwidth you get to exploit will also be no more than 1 MHz.

                                  Take Wi-Fi, for example, in the 2.4GHz band, Wi-Fi is allowed to take advantage of up to 40 MHz bandwidth for a channel. At the 5GHz band, Wi-Fi is allowed to use up to 160MHz for a channel — all without crowding out TV/radio broadcasting or cellular communications.

                                  Cellular 5G’s mmWave specifications go beyond 6GHz, more room to play with wider channels to allow higher bandwidth. The trade offs are shorter distance and weaker penetration. Wi-Fi’s 802.11ax extends also to 6GHz and faces similar tradeoffs as a matter of physics. 802.11ad/ay pushes Wi-Fi into the 60GHz territory with 2GHz channel bandwidth. The speed vs. range tradeoffs there will be even more acute.

                                  KlausK Offline
                                  KlausK Offline
                                  Klaus
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #19

                                  @Axtremus any chance we'll see subspace communication anytime soon?

                                  AxtremusA 1 Reply Last reply
                                  • George KG George K

                                    @Axtremus said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                                    Wi-Fi’s 802.11ax

                                    You just made that up, didn't you?

                                    AxtremusA Offline
                                    AxtremusA Offline
                                    Axtremus
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #20

                                    @George-K said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                                    @Axtremus said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                                    Wi-Fi’s 802.11ax

                                    You just made that up, didn't you?

                                    Marketed as “Wi-Fi 6”, 802.11ax is already present in the latest iPad Pro, and you can buy “W-Fi 6” routers from the typical consumer electronics outlets today. Your new iPhone and future new Macs will have it too. There is no escaping it, 802.11ax will take over the world.

                                    MikM 1 Reply Last reply
                                    • KlausK Klaus

                                      @Axtremus any chance we'll see subspace communication anytime soon?

                                      AxtremusA Offline
                                      AxtremusA Offline
                                      Axtremus
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #21

                                      @Klaus said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                                      @Axtremus any chance we'll see subspace communication anytime soon?

                                      The pointy eared bastards have it since 1957 but won’t share with us. It will be 2151 before we figure it out ourselves.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      • AxtremusA Axtremus

                                        @George-K said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                                        @Axtremus said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                                        Wi-Fi’s 802.11ax

                                        You just made that up, didn't you?

                                        Marketed as “Wi-Fi 6”, 802.11ax is already present in the latest iPad Pro, and you can buy “W-Fi 6” routers from the typical consumer electronics outlets today. Your new iPhone and future new Macs will have it too. There is no escaping it, 802.11ax will take over the world.

                                        MikM Offline
                                        MikM Offline
                                        Mik
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #22

                                        @Axtremus said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                                        @George-K said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                                        @Axtremus said in 5G - is it worth the premium?:

                                        Wi-Fi’s 802.11ax

                                        You just made that up, didn't you?

                                        Marketed as “Wi-Fi 6”, 802.11ax is already present in the latest iPad Pro, and you can buy “W-Fi 6” routers from the typical consumer electronics outlets today. Your new iPhone and future new Macs will have it too. There is no escaping it, 802.11ax will take over the world.

                                        😆

                                        “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

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