By Joanna Stern
Today's forecast: 95 degrees and sunny with thunderstorms likely
in the afternoon. No chance of 5G testing.
One of the biggest findings of my multicity 5G review tour: The
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G isn't reliable in the summer -- unless, well,
you summer in Iceland.
When I ran tests, the phone's 5G often switched off due to
overheating, leaving me with a 4G connection. Cellular carriers
demo-ing or testing the phone have taken to cooling the devices
with ice packs and air conditioners.
The phone does this when the temperature reaches a certain
threshold to minimize energy use and optimize battery, a Samsung
spokeswoman said. "As 5G technology and the ecosystem evolve, it's
only going to get better," she added.
The fifth generation of cellular networking, 5G is designed to
replace 4G (aka LTE) and pave the way for innovation ranging from
augmented reality to self-driving cars. Name any tech buzzword:
It'll probably benefit from 5G's faster speeds and reduced lag.
Leading U.S. carriers are already taking the first steps,
launching 5G here and there around the U.S. In just the past few
weeks, Sprint launched in Chicago, AT&T in Las Vegas, T-Mobile
in New York City and Verizon in Denver and Providence, R.I. By the
end of the year, there should be 5G in around 30 U.S. cities.
Eager to test out a technology that's been more hyped than
flavored sparkling water, I embarked on a 5G expedition from Denver
to Atlanta to Chicago to Manhattan's Lower East Side. I mostly used
the new, $1,300 Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, one of the first 5G phones
and the only one available across all the carriers. I also tested
the LG V50 ThinQ 5G on Sprint's network; Verizon has a version but
I didn't test it.
After nearly 120 tests, more than 12 city miles walked and a
couple of big blisters, I can report that 5G is
fasten-your-seat-belt fast...when you can find it. And you're
standing outdoors. And the temperature is just right.
As my findings show, 5G is absolutely not ready for you. But
like any brand new network technology, it provides a glimpse of the
future.
Finding 1: Soooo fast.
"Holy spit!" I said the first time I saw a speed test hit 1,800
megabits per second on Verizon's network in downtown Denver. (OK, I
didn't actually say "spit.")
That's 52 times the average 4G network download speed in the
U.S., according to internet speed-test company Ookla. It's 18 times
the speed of my home network.
Don't speak megabits? I downloaded the whole new season of
"Stranger Things" from Netflix -- 2.1 gigabytes of video -- in 34
seconds. The same averaged more than an hour on my 4G connections.
And I downloaded a huge, 10GB file full of video and images from
Google Drive in 2.5 minutes.
I saw similar "gigabit" speeds from AT&T in Atlanta. I never
hit the 1,000-Mbps mark in my tests with T-Mobile and Sprint,
though their speeds were still about eight-to-10 times as fast as
4G. My 5G testing sherpa and cellular-networking guru, Sascha Segan
of PCMag, has tested these networks in more locations and has also
seen these differences between carriers.
Right now, using 5G is like being on a highway with no one else
around. Once more people jump on, speeds will likely decrease. But
no matter which carrier you're on, only downloads use 5G. For now,
if you want to upload a file or video, you'll get 4G speeds.
Finding 2: Got a 5G Signal? Don't move.
With the exception of Sprint, these speeds can be found only in
small pockets around town. (More on Sprint below.) In fact, I had
to ask carriers for landmarks and street corners to find the
coverage.
Right now, Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T are deploying a
high-frequency flavor of 5G called " millimeter wave." It's
super-duper fast but can't travel long distances.
In Denver, Verizon has erected 20-foot green poles on street
corners to broadcast the signal; in Chicago, it has affixed nodes
to street lamps. In Atlanta, I saw nodes AT&T had placed on top
of buildings or on existing cell towers; in each of those
locations, walking a few hundred feet up or around the block could
cause the 5G indicator on my phone to drop to 4G.
Finding 3: Got a 5G Signal? Don't go inside.
Right next to that tower in Denver where I notched those crazy
speeds is a small bakery with delicious bread. When I stepped
inside, the 5G signal vanished. That's the other thing about
millimeter waves: Most can't penetrate walls or other hard
obstacles.
The carriers plan to use this technology to blanket large
outdoor and even indoor spaces. AT&T, for instance, is
targeting shopping malls, stadiums and convention centers. Unlike
its competitors, AT&T is also restricting the network to
business customers looking to develop products for the faster
network. (These are the only people who should be buying 5G devices
right now anyway.)
Finding 4: AT&T's 5GE isn't 5G.
Speaking of AT&T: If you think your current AT&T iPhone
or Android phone is a 5G phone because "5GE" sometimes appears in
the corner next to your network strength icon, it isn't. It's just
good 4G, rebranded "5G Evolution" by AT&T's marketing
department.
No matter what carrier you are on, you'll need a new phone for
real 5G. And it'll likely be a while before Apple launches one.
Finding 5: Ice packs not included.
In Atlanta, where it was 90 degrees the day I visited, I could
run only one or two 5G download tests before the phone would
overheat and switch to 4G. When that happened, I'd head back to the
car and hold the phone to the air vent. In Chicago, another day in
the 90s, I had to wait until the sun went down to finish my Netflix
download tests. In New York on an 83-degree day, I went with the
ice-cooler trick: A minute or two in the cooler, and 5G switches
back on.
At times when the 5G would stop working, my infrared thermometer
showed the back surface of the phone was over 100 degrees.
"With 5G, data is transmitted at higher quantities and speeds,
which causes the processor to consume more energy," the Samsung
spokeswoman said.
It isn't atypical for a phone's processors or modems to reduce
functionality when they are heavily taxed or overheated. I put the
phone through some intensive tests -- although nothing I couldn't
imagine any power user doing. I was surprised, though, when in my
tests even a simple download on a normal summer day could overheat
the phone and sever the 5G connection.
Finding 6: Sprint finally has an edge.
Millimeter-wave issues like overheating and limited range
weren't problems with another flavor of 5G called "mid-band."
Currently deployed by Sprint in Chicago, Dallas and other
cities, mid-band networks have slower speeds but coverage areas
that span much wider distances. I tested Sprint versions of the LG
and Samsung phones in various areas of Chicago. Both indicated 5G
service the whole time and I notched speeds between 100 to 300
Mbps, including inside my hotel lobby and waiting in line at CVS.
Not exactly blistering, but it puts 4G to shame.
"Low-band," another flavor of 5G that will roll out soon, will
also offer slower speeds, cover larger areas and penetrate walls.
T-Mobile and AT&T plan to launch in the next six-to-nine
months; Verizon hasn't announced its plan.
That Galaxy S10 5G phone I've been using? It won't work on those
networks. Another reason to hold off.
Finding 7: 5G doesn't do much right now.
When the stars aligned and things worked, the only real benefit
I found was speedily downloading TV shows before a flight.
Emailing, web browsing, Instagramming, streaming video -- none of
that felt any different.
For now, you can't use the phone as a hot spot for your laptop
or other devices. In Chicago and Atlanta, I used an HTC 5G Hub to
connect my laptop to Sprint and got double my home Wi-Fi speeds.
This gave me a glimpse of the future: one wireless plan to cover
home and mobile needs.
What I'm still excited to see are the real promises of 5G, from
AR goggles with a zero-lag visual guide to my surroundings ("Up on
your right is the best hot-dog stand in the area") to fleets of
cars that all talk to each other in real-time ("Don't crash into
the nice tech columnist currently crossing 47th Street").
Those of us who remember the early days of 3G and 4G recall the
rocky start. With 5G, the process is even longer and more
confusing. "The race to 5G is a race America must win," President
Trump has said. From my weeks on the road, it feels like 5G is
still in the locker room. Hopefully there's air conditioning.
-- For more WSJ Technology analysis, reviews, advice and
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Write to Joanna Stern at joanna.stern@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 18, 2019 12:44 ET (16:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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