Internet is so much faster than how it was, say, five years back. 5G LTE is a great innovation, which made internet browsing faster than ever. 4G LTE has allowed transmissions of thousands of thousands of MB of data from a single device to multiple connected devices in a few seconds. That is an awesome feat. If we check for what 4G LTE has made possible, here you go, a tiny list as an example –
- HD video definition video streaming
- Video conferencing
- Online gaming
- Extremely high voice quality
- Quickly download files over a wireless network, etc.
Now, imagine if you could do all these even faster. Like really fast. That is what the fifth generation or 5G wireless cellular network does.
It is going to be an awesome experience for consumers. Nevertheless, what does it mean for mobile app developers or mobile device users? How is it going to affect our experience with internet browsing?
Here is an overview of what 5G is. Let us check out its predecessors first.
- 1G – Analog, was introduced in early to mid-1980s was the first generation of wireless communications. This helped people make calls between mobile phones. Data transfers took 1.9kbit/second.
- 2G – GPRS, was introduced in 1991 and offered voice calls, text-only SMS messages and internet connections. The data transfer takes about 10Kbit/second.
- 3G UMTS was introduced in 1998 and offered data transfer at 200Kbit/second and a maximum of 14.7Mbit/second. This technology later let to what is known as the Smartphone Revolution and allowed users to send pictures and make video calls.
- 4G – LTE, was introduced in 2008 and is the current standard of wireless communication. Data transfer speed increased to 60Mbit/second.
- With 5G we are expecting to hit a speed of 1Gbit/second to 50 Gbit/second. IN test environments, it is said to have reached a speed of 65,000 times than a normal 4G connection. In real-world, it could be around 2.8Gbps. That is super awesome!
What makes 5G different?
Increased connection density
4G allows only 2000 devices to connect within .38 sq. Miles while 5G supports up to 1 million devices in the same space. This is good news for IoT mobile app developers
Low to Zero latency
4G has an average latency of 50 milliseconds whereas 5G is just one second. This is good news for AR/VR based mobile apps.
Improved Precision
5G uses higher radio frequencies and shorter wavelengths than 4G and therefore it has the better precision capability. This is good news for high precision GPS mobile apps.
Enhanced battery life
An increase in speed and reduced latency results in lower battery consumption and it is good for users both mobile app developers and mobile users.
Conclusion
These features of 5G widen the usage range. Cloud AR/VR, remote machinery control, wireless health, industrial IoT, smart cities etc also uses 5G.
5G is good for app developers because it works 100 times faster than 4G, reduces website loading time to 1ms or less, reduces app loading time to less than 2 seconds, makes IoT devices have longer battery life, improves communication quality in remote areas etc.
It is going to be a game-changer both to mobile app users and to mobile app developers. We cant wait to get our hands on it because it will open up a world of opportunities and possibilities for us to improve the mobile app experience.
