The Importance of 5G to a "Light User"?

[LilSweetLin]

Hi everyone,

As the title states, I guess I'm what one would consider a "light user". I'm currently on the $50/10GB LTE prepaid plan on T-Mobile. To put things in perspective, I doubt that I use up even half of my data. My usage involves a lot of voice calls (I'd say anywhere from 2-4 hours, sometimes 6 hours a day), texting periodically throughout the day, streaming my music on Google Play Music, watching YouTube videos, browsing the web, and visiting forums.

I don't do anything graphics intensive like gaming, nor do I mess about with photography and camera settings; only point-and-shoot for the occasional photos.

I've been using a Nexus 6P for two years now, but some months back, I bought an unlocked LG V30 in mint condition off of Swappa, because I was bored by stock Android and soured on Samsung from my S3 days. Since I listen to music a lot, the quad DAC on the phone definitely lived up to the hype; and the battery life, depite its small capacity, was great for my usage.

That being said, I ended up selling the V30 after two weeks because of its horrible signal. I was never able to get full bars of reception, even at home, where I'm exclusively on Wi-Fi, and the modem is in the area of my apartment I spend the most time. While out and about, in not so great coverage areas, the V30 gave me no signal, whereas my aging 6P still gives me a couple bars. The FM radio app on the phone was essentially useless, because most of my local radio stations here in Queens came in all static.

So now I'm back to using my 6P again until I decide which phone to upgrade to. My choices to upgrade are few, considering I plan to buy outright after a price drop. Crazy as it sounds, I'm still considering the upcoming LG V40, because of the quad DAC. Once you listen to music with a good pair of high impedance headphones with the DAC toggled on, there's no going back, imo. It's just that good. But the terrible radios are a concern. Aside from the V40, I of course am considering a Note 9, because I've never had a Note, and I figure that it's been long enough to where Samsung has figured themselves out. Other than that, I'm wondering if I should just wait for the next crop of phones to be released next year, which will have 5G enabled.

My question is, given my usage, would 5G make that much a difference day to day, in terms of signal, speed and call quality? Should I buy one of the aforementioned phones at a discount in 2019, or wait for the new class? How long before T-Mobile enables 5G on the network to the masses?

Thanks in advance for your responses, and I apologize for the long post.

 

[B. Diddy]

My understanding of 5G is that it's not going to be a game changer for a while. The blazing-fast 500 Mbps download speeds it's supposed to provide will be nice to have, but the average user does just fine with the 40-50 Mbps download speeds that current T-Mobile 4G LTE provides. By its nature, 5G will have difficulties penetrating indoors, which is why it will require lots of small cells to be installed for indoor coverage, among other things. Here are a couple articles about why 5G won't be all that just yet:

https://www.verdict.co.uk/5g-indoor-coverage-bad/
https://www.androidcentral.com/its-ok-not-be-hyped-about-5g

My guess is that we're at least 2 years away from significant 5G market presence, so you shouldn't worry about getting a phone that's 5G compatible right now .

 

[LilSweetLin]

My understanding of 5G is that it's not going to be a game changer for a while. The blazing-fast 500 Mbps download speeds it's supposed to provide will be nice to have, but the average user does just fine with the 40-50 Mbps download speeds that current T-Mobile 4G LTE provides. By its nature, 5G will have difficulties penetrating indoors, which is why it will require lots of small cells to be installed for indoor coverage, among other things. Here are a couple articles about why 5G won't be all that just yet:

https://www.verdict.co.uk/5g-indoor-coverage-bad/
https://www.androidcentral.com/its-ok-not-be-hyped-about-5g

My guess is that we're at least 2 years away from significant 5G market presence, so you shouldn't worry about getting a phone that's 5G compatible right now .

Thank you for the response. I do remember how 4G wasn't that great to start with, so it does make sense that it would be a while before 5G becomes viable enough for mass use. But it's also that I feel like OEMs have reached a sort of plateau as far as new smartphone tech; the latest gimmicks being the notch and now multiple camera sensors.

As someone who doesn't have the ability to change phones the way they change underwear (lol), it's hard for me to settle on a device that would suit my needs. Choice is great, but it can also be a hassle.

 

[Rukbat]

Queens, huh? No comment, except that I grew up and lived in Brooklyn (and you know how it goes from here.) But I spent 12 years working in LIC, so I'm not all bad.

When we convert to 5G for data (as B. Diddy said, not for a while), we may drop 2G as voice and use 3G (AT&T already does), but that won't have any effect on a voice user, that's for data (the 6P should still be able to use 3G for voice - they work with AT&T). Some carriers may eventually migrate HD voice, or VoLTE to 5G, but again, that's better quality voice. You'll still be able to use the 6P for quite a long time. (And we'll still have 4G data, the way we still have 3G data now, but in the US, 4G LTE is almost universal.)

One suggestion. If you're using 5GB/month, and TMobile is good for you signal-wise, look into Mint Mobile. They're on TMobile towers, so you'll get the same signal, but half the price for 10GB/month, and a few more dollars off for 5GB/month. (I'm usually at home with wifi, so 2GB/month for $15 is enough for me. Who gives you unlimited talk and text for $15/month?) I retired to North Carolina (a blizzard here is 1/4" on the top rail of the fence - and they close the schools and the city for a forecast of snow), so last week we had no service for one day - but there are still a few thousand people without power in the southeast corner of the state - Hurricane Florence, if you remember. If I have anything to complain about, it wasn't the phone service, it was the 2 days without power at the house. No TV, no internet, no ... anything but use the gas stove (I normally use the microwave) and wait. Can you say booooooring?

But give Mint a look-at. You have to pay a few months in advance, but you get a free SIM to try it out first. (And saving even only $300/year isn't something you find on the sidewalk in any boro.)

Edit:
"reached a sort of plateau"? In the late 1800s, the head of the Patent Office us rumored to have said (he never did, actually) that everything that can be invented has been invented.

There's so much more for cellphones. In 2028, think of what you said, and what your 6P could do (or even what the Pixel 3 will do) and compare it to phones in 2028 - and you'll wonder how we got along with such primitive phone service.

 

[raino]

One suggestion. If you're using 5GB/month, and TMobile is good for you signal-wise, look into Mint Mobile. They're on TMobile towers, so you'll get the same signal, but half the price for 10GB/month, and a few more dollars off for 5GB/month. (I'm usually at home with wifi, so 2GB/month for $15 is enough for me. Who gives you unlimited talk and text for $15/month?)

Mint is a bad idea, given OP's 2-6 hours of talk time per day.

 

[Almeuit]

5G isn't just about data consumption. It's about many things so yes.. even the casual will take advantage once it hits full force.

 

[Rukbat]

Mint is a bad idea, given OP's 2-6 hours of talk time per day.

Mint is unlimited talk and text. I've never tried to really push it (my voice would give out), but when I use it a lot, no one says anything. Maybe if you just sat on the phone for hours, hardly ta;king, or made 4 hour long calls. But even TMO would probably hit you for that.

 

[raino]

Mint is unlimited talk and text.

Apparently they have a...limited definition of unlimited. I have seen people complaining about being cut off for excessive talk usage. Last I checked, 'reasonable' wasn't numerically defined anywhere.

 

[Almeuit]

Apparently they have a...limited definition of unlimited. I have seen people complaining about being cut off for excessive talk usage. Last I checked, 'reasonable' wasn't numerically defined anywhere.

Really people got kicked off for talking too much?

 

[raino]

Really people got kicked off for talking too much?

Apparently so. I've seen people claiming to be kicked off for 3-5 hours of daily usage.