Qualcomm, maker of chips for smartphones, made a potentially game-changing announcement: the company’s new mobile processor, the Snapdragon 855, will allow phones to be enabled to the next generation 5G connectivity.
5G is the next step beyond 4G LTE and promises more reliable as well as faster connectivity. Video streaming and calls, as well as the general use of smart mobile phones, will be much easier on 5G enabled devices. Not only will connections be faster for both the internet and data, but there will be less connection dropping as well.
This means that Android phones released next year will make 5G connectivity available, as long as manufacturers make use of the Snapdragon 855 with 5G connectivity since there will be two types of the processor released. Only one will have 5G support.
However, new flagship Android phones, such as Samsung’s Galaxy series, usually carry the next generation of Snapdragon processors. It is not yet known which new Android models will have the 5G support Snapdragon 855.
But the odds are in favor of Samsung’s Galaxy 10 smartphone, widely touted to be released in the second part of February 2019, to be a 5G-capable smartphone.
In the United States, Verizon and AT&T have already confirmed Samsung’s 5G smartphone for next year. However, AT&T’s 5G networks will only be made available in limited areas by year’s end, which include: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Waco, Jacksonville, Louisville, New Orleans, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Indianapolis, and Oklahoma City. For Verizon, smartphones with 5G service will not be available until sometime in 2019, and the company has only just begun making 5G internet services available in homes in four cities—Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.
On the other hand, T-Mobile is promising that its 5G network will be available across the US by 2020.
But 5G for mobile phones may yet take a while to develop, due to the limited number of markets. 5G can be seen to be problematic as it transmits via a]the “millimeter wave” spectrum which is known to have challenges in going through walls or other obstacles. Some people believe that even the laves of a tree could affect the strength of a 5G signal, which might be why iPhone doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to put out a 5G model.
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