Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
AT&T Already Working on 6G, Says 5G iPhones Might Not Be 'Massive Event' Due to Economic Uncertainty
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yes and no. The whole crowd of tech wannabes (Qualcomm, ATT, VZW, etc) have been pushing the "5G will change the world immediately" line for years now, aided and abetted by the usual crowd of dishonest analysts, stupid journalists, and outright insane internetters.
That fantasy is reaching what was always going to be the inevitable end-game, the discovery that, no the world hasn't changed, and no, very few people actually care about 5G enough to alter their existing plans around it. So (as usual when your predictions fail) the excuses are coming out. But Covid has NOTHING to do with this. 5G was going to be a long slow rampup, not a world-changing event; ATT PR (soon to be followed by QC and VZW, then the analysts) are just grabbing for the easiest excuse on-hand.
Point is, yes ATT are being shady. But it's not just ATT, the rest of the 5G crew will do the exact same thing.
Agree. Not everyone has been digging the larger iPhone dimensions. For me, the current 11 Pro is about as large as I would want a hand-held device (yes, I'm will to go up a tad for the rumored increase size of the 12 Pro). That said, I certainly haven't once wished my 11 Pro had faster cellular - especially sitting at home the past 9 months with 1GB wifi. Maybe there are aspects of 5G to which I'm not yet hip? But from what I know now, cellular speed has zero bearing on my iPhone acquisitions.
I think the phone companies, generally, are trying to prove that they offer anything but an endless list of expensive services devoid of really giving a **** about customers in any way. So they exaggerate what they are doing, and the 'value' that it will bring, all the while collecting huge profits. People want to complain about companies making to much money and doing little, look at AT&T and the like. They are the best example of a middlemen you can find. They just want to cash checks. I'm not saying the 5G doesn't offer better speed, but just expect higher bills as soon as they can get away with it.
I think you are underestimating the effort and investment it takes to run a nationwide cellular network. I wouldn't call that "doing little". Apple in its current form wouldn't exist without them (and today has higher gross profit than AT&T or Verizon). You can't really blame the carriers for also wanting to profit from what they are doing.
Apple is selling you the expensive devices, and they do nothing to fund network expansion.
AT&T and other telecoms have become overly dependent on hyping improving phone technology. After 5G they really don't have a clue other then pushing all devices to be Internet of Everything. These phone companies really are no longer technology leaders, just glorified utility companys.
Totally agree on the 5G issue. I would bet that the telcos have seen big drops in usage going back to March and they realize that in all likelihood things aren’t going to change for another year or so. The things that 5G is better at, like high density usage at big sporting events or concerts, just isn’t going to be needed for the next 12-18 months, or more.
It should give them the time to actually get the networks set up and expanded beyond urban areas, where there is an actual need for the other benefit 5G can offer with extending distances that high speed service can be offered to. Telcos could be grabbing a bunch of rural high speed data business where there isn’t good cable or fiber lines, but these areas just don’t generally get upgraded because the ROI takes years given the low number of consumers.
Well, it would be inward x-ray, so other people would be able to see our brains whilst using the phone on 6G. Might be a trendy look.X-Ray Glasses are possible.
People upgrading to the new iPhone for 5G are going to be sadly disappointed if they expect blazing speeds wherever they go. I'm just glad Apple is going back to a Qualcomm modem for the 12, so i don't have to deal with the crappy intel modem in the 11 anymore. My X performed significantly better than my 11 Pro in that regard.
5G on consumer smartphones imho is a fraud... It's selling you something your old phone could already do, but the network providers never rolled out. Most network never got beyond 300Mbit/s, which is a fraction of what LTE can deliver.
Now they are selling 500Mbit/s on 5G. That's pathetic. Even the iPhone X did 600Mbit/s over LTE. That was 3 years ago.
But it doesn't matter. 500Mbit/s are worth nothing if that drops to 3G or even EDGE once you leave the city...
Meanwhile regular phonecall are either compressed or routed over ancient hardware that results in the voice quality of analog VHF communication.
Now they are selling 500Mbit/s on 5G. That's pathetic. Even the iPhone X did 600Mbit/s over LTE. That was 3 years ago.
But it doesn't matter. 500Mbit/s are worth nothing if that drops to 3G or even EDGE once you leave the city...
Meanwhile regular phonecall are either compressed or routed over ancient hardware that results in the voice quality of analog VHF communication.
So you don't wrap yours in tinfoil?
I mean, the note 20 ultra was the one for me, despite that awkward presentation. So please get off the apple high horse.
[automerge]1600717137[/automerge]
True, that is worth pointing out. Definitely a lot of specifics when it comes to 5G, especially in the US. The race to 5G just absolutely kills me though.
How much is 5G going to persuade you into buying a phone?
I mean, based on my needs I'm looking for high refresh rate, great camera, top tier CPU and huge ram and Android. Note 20 Ultra happened to be that phone for me. Whether or not it had 5G is completely irrelevant to me. It's not like I sat here going "oh, what phone has 5G?" I'm working from home ffs lmao. Plus 4G is more than I would ever need.
I should've noted important post Corona lol. 5G makes sense if you're with the right carrier, obviously not ignoring everything else....I thought that was a given.
Don't forget with Verizon, if you want to use that 5G network, you have to pay $10 extra a month, and then you have to try to find a spot in your town that has 5G. In my city, it's only 3 blocks in the downtown area. That's sure worth an extra $10 a month.
