Other Is 5G worth it during the pandemic?

[Macalicious2011]

5G speeds peak speeds are amazing. However, reception is very sensetive to whether the phone has a 5G mast in line of sight.

Given that coverage is strongest in high traffic urban hubs, is 5G worth it now that many people are spending more time at home and use WIFI?

It feels like the timing of launching 5G is coincidentally bad because of the declining footfall around stadiums, business hubs, arenas and campuses.🤷‍♂️

The camera improvements or the iPhone 12 are nice. I fancy them but I am unlikely going to travel or attend events in the coming 4-6 months and will be limited in exploiting the bigger sensor.

 

[darthbane2k]

You have to live in hope that we’ll eventually get through this

 

[bobmans]

Only mmwave 5G requires direct line-of-sight. There's still Sub6Ghz 5G that's able to have really, consistent coverage.

Also, these phones will last for years and years, the pandemic will be over (or should be over) by the time your iPhone starts showing any age. Most people don't upgrade their phone every year, so it's really good to be future-proofed.

 

[Malus120]

5G speeds peak speeds are amazing. However, reception is very sensetive to whether the phone has a 5G mast in line of sight.

Given that coverage is strongest in high traffic urban hubs, is 5G worth it now that many people are spending more time at home and use WIFI?

It feels like the timing of launching 5G is coincidentally bad because of the declining footfall around stadiums, business hubs, arenas and campuses.🤷‍♂️

The camera improvements or the iPhone 12 are nice. I fancy them but I am unlikely going to travel or attend events in the coming 4-6 months and will be limited in exploiting the bigger sensor.

I don't think you're wrong that the value of 5G for most people will be limited during the pandemic (and honestly for much of the next 12-18 months). If you're thinking of buying an iPhone this year specifically for 5G you should probably (re)evaluate your use case, coverage map, and the COVID situation in your area and consider whether you're really going to get value out of the device at this time. That's not to say they're bad phones, if anything I think they've got some great features, but 5G probably shouldn't be the main reason you buy this year.

However, I think you're looking at it the wrong way. Getting devices out in the wild in 2020, in this environment, will give the technology time to mature so that by the time most people get their hands on it, it will feel more like a real upgrade, and less like a novelty that only works occasionally.

 

[Macalicious2011]

Only mmwave 5G requires direct line-of-sight. There's still Sub6Ghz 5G that's able to have really, consistent coverage.

That's good to know.

I am also wary of first generation 5G antennas as I would be surprised if apple announce next year "iPhone 13 with 75% better 5G performance."

My first 4G device was an iPhone 5S. In the first 18 months 4G reception wasn't great as the network had launched but was still being expanded and improved.

 

[MichaelMidnight]

5G speeds peak speeds are amazing. However, reception is very sensetive to whether the phone has a 5G mast in line of sight.

Given that coverage is strongest in high traffic urban hubs, is 5G worth it now that many people are spending more time at home and use WIFI?

It feels like the timing of launching 5G is coincidentally bad because of the declining footfall around stadiums, business hubs, arenas and campuses.🤷‍♂️

The camera improvements or the iPhone 12 are nice. I fancy them but I am unlikely going to travel or attend events in the coming 4-6 months and will be limited in exploiting the bigger sensor.

This right here. I'm not worried at all about 5G but I am in the same boat with the Camera since I use it often. Alas what use is there in a great camera when I myself am NOT going out, nor are the people I'd take photos of, and the places I'd go unreachable...

 

[iSayuSay]

You worried about 5G? The pandemic means the whole iPhone 12 shiniest upgrades basically meaningless.

Camera improvement? Cool, what do you want to shoot now flight and travels are virtually banned?

Night mode video? Never mind, my local night hours is started at 8pm

10bit HDR? Can’t go to the beach either.

The only useful upgrade is A14 so you can experience better games at home while being isolated. Even though A13 isn’t much slower.

 

[Macalicious2011]

10bit HDR? Can’t go to the beach either.

HDR is a nice upgrade but HDR/4K playback on apple devices is a mess, especially through YouTube.

 

[JustAnExpat]

My opinion:

Don't buy it for the 5G. The first generation 4G phones had bad battery life and ran hot. Wouldn't recommend buying the first 5G either.

 

[TechLord]

If you're a more techy person who upgrades every 1-2 years, you could afford to skip on the basis of 5g assuming you don't care about other upgrades. 5g is only relevant in very specific areas. If you're an average consumer who upgrades every 4-5 years, or even longer, then 5g is worth it since it'll certainly be relavent by the mid 2020's.

 

[TechLord]

You worried about 5G? The pandemic means the whole iPhone 12 shiniest upgrades basically meaningless.

Camera improvement? Cool, what do you want to shoot now flight and travels are virtually banned?

Night mode video? Never mind, my local night hours is started at 8pm

10bit HDR? Can’t go to the beach either.

The only useful upgrade is A14 so you can experience better games at home while being isolated. Even though A13 isn’t much slower.

It's meaningless for techheads with their 11 pro max who think short term and will just get the 2021 flagship instead. For an average consumer in the real world who has a 6s with 75% battery life and a shattered screen, looking for an upgrade to last them till 2025, those features are very relevant.

 

[loybond]

It's hard for me to see how 5G will matter. This speed test is on an iPhone on LTE in Toronto, and Samsungs are even faster. Also, and a bigger deal, I don't see 5G mattering unless we have true unlimited data options.

 

[CTHarrryH]

Also have to in an area with real 5G and here in Maine we'll probably get it in 2025

 

[maxsquared]

I wondered the same last night, would 5G as main feature for iPhone 12 a bit risky for Apple, as most people are working/staying at home, my data usage went from 30-60 GB to under 1 GB.

And I think we won't get back to 'normal' until at least mid next year, then would the iPhone 13 Next would be in the pipeline?

The pro camera feature is call, but as a pro amateur photographer, I wonder if having ProRAW on a tiny winey sensor on a camera phone really take any advantage of the file format, and how much difference it will make from exist raw formats from Apps such as Lightroom and etc.

 

[bpeeps]

It's hard for me to see how 5G will matter. This speed test is on an iPhone on LTE in Toronto, and Samsungs are even faster. Also, and a bigger deal, I don't see 5G mattering unless we have true unlimited data options.

View attachment 966624

Time of day, network, location, and congestion matter. I don't even get a quarter of those speeds in LA during peak hours. 8:48PM GMT is 1:58PM PDT.

 

[bpeeps]

It's meaningless for techheads with their 11 pro max who think short term and will just get the 2021 flagship instead. For an average consumer in the real world who has a 6s with 75% battery life and a shattered screen, looking for an upgrade to last them till 2025, those features are very relevant.

It's always amusing that tech nerds don't see they are an extreme minority when it comes to Apple's userbase. Most people are holding on to their phones longer. The majority of those updating to the 12 phones will be coming off of older phones that are at the end of their life cycle. But tech heads always think everyone is upgrading from last year's phones. I have the X and a jump to the 12 Pro will be pretty massive for me since there's 2 generations of upgrades and tech I missed out on.

 

[C DM]

My opinion:

Don't buy it for the 5G. The first generation 4G phones had bad battery life and ran hot. Wouldn't recommend buying the first 5G either.

Which iPhones were those? 5/5s? Seems like plenty of people had very positive experiences with those phones.

 

[Macalicious2011]

then would the iPhone 13 Next would be in the pipeline?

One of the reasons to wait for iPhone 13 is that it could have a stronger magnet at the back, better wireless charging and be Apple's first portless phone.

Time of day, network, location, and congestion matter. I don't even get a quarter of those speeds in LA during peak hours. 8:48PM GMT is 1:58PM PDT.

I used to commute in to London by train and the reception on board was usually to bad that I had to rely on downloading youtube and Netflix videos before leaving the house.

More than often, I want stronger 4G coverage rather than 5G.