Why you shouldn't buy a 5G phone right now

Galaxy S10 5G, Mate X: Why you shouldn't buy a 5G phone right now

At a Mobile World Congress keynote panel this week on the timing of 5G devices, Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon declared with confidence, "The phones are ready; we're just waiting for the networks."

About an hour later, in a briefing room a mere 10 feet below that keynote hall, AT&T Chief Technology Officer Andre Fuetsch told CNET, "The issue is devices. Frankly, we're waiting on the devices."


After years of work on 5G networks, hyped as the life-changing foundation for tech trends like augmented reality and telemedicine, the superfast wireless technology is finally being rolled out across the globe. Carriers are turning on their networks, and virtually every major Android handset maker has talked up plans to launch a 5G device this year.

But, as evidenced by the conflicting comments from the AT&T and Qualcomm execs, things are still a little complicated. Still, while 5G at times remains a confusing mess, it's at least coming online in a real way now.

There's been a whirlwind of news. Samsung, the world's biggest smartphone vendor, unveiled the Galaxy S10 5G last week during its Unpacked event in San Francisco. Oppo on Sunday at MWC talked up its first, not-yet-named 5G phone. Later that day, Huawei showed off its 5G-powered Mate X foldable, and Xiaomi detailed its Mi Mix 3 5G. MWC also marked the debut of LG's V50 ThinQ and ZTE's Axon 10 Pro, while Sony and OnePlus showed off prototypes for devices they'll launch this year.

That doesn't mean you should jump on the 5G bandwagon just yet. Here are a few reasons to wait a bit.

Tiny coverage

AT&T says it has the first mobile 5G network in the US, but when it comes to where you can actually tap into the next-generation service, things get a little mysterious.

"They're small pockets in the cities," Fuetsch said, noting that all of the customers using the Netgear Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot are small businesses. "We haven't disclosed them publicly."

AT&T and Verizon have invested in superhigh frequency radio airwaves known as millimeter wave spectrum, which brings tremendous speed and capacity. The downside of that high capacity is limited range.

How limited? Think a block or two.

So even if AT&T and Verizon say they have 5G coverage in a city, you may struggle to actually get on the network, even with a compatible device. A Verizon spokesman admitted the early deployment would be small. T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray told CNET that his company has fired up millimeter wave spectrum that supports the upcoming Galaxy S10 5G, but that the company likely won't market the network since the coverage area is so small.

Ray said T-Mobile's full 5G launch will happen in the second half of the year. He didn't specify when, but there may not be phones that run on the company's broader 5G network until the fourth quarter, or even early 2020. That's because devices for T-Mobile's network will require Qualcomm's upcoming second-generration modem, the X55, and that isn't yet available for devices.

Smartphones coming in time for the holidays later this year will still use the first-generation modem, the X50, Qualcomm's Amon said in an interview Monday.

"There are some [handset makers] who are aggressive with their launch dates," he said. "We could see some X55s, but most of the smartphones coming from Q2 2019 all the way to the holiday season will be ... X50."

A T-Mobile spokeswoman would say only that the broader network launch will happen in the second half.

Both Ray and Fuetsch are shooting for nationwide coverage using lower frequency (and longer range) spectrum by 2020.

The carrier with the biggest early 5G coverage could actually be Sprint. Yes, that Sprint. The company said it would cover more than 1,000 square miles with its 5G networks, spread across nine cities, such as Chicago and New York.

No other carriers have talked about their full coverage range, which isn't reassuring for anyone willing to buy a 5G phone. We also don't know how much the mobile 5G plans will cost.

Expensive phones

No one really knows quite what 5G devices are going to cost. Out of all the 5G handsets already announced, only two have price tags.

Huawei at MWC said its Mate X will cost a jaw-dropping 2,300 euros ($2,600) when it goes on sale in the middle of the year. That's pricier than feared, even though it's one of the world's first foldable phones. But Xiaomi's Mi Mix 3 5G will retail for 599 euros ($679) when it hits the market in May, an amount that's less than many 4G phones today.

The devices may end up being on extreme ends of the pricing scale, but there's really no way to know right now. And another wildcard is what other features are added to boost the price. The Mate X's cost is mostly because of the foldable display.

Ultimately, the additional features added to 5G phones "will determine the premium," Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi said. "Rest assured, there will be one."

Carriers are spending billions of dollars to build out 5G networks. Device makers need to use pricier components like 5G radios and bigger batteries. Those higher costs will likely flow down to you through more expensive service and phones. And the shift to 5G gives carriers and phone makers the chance to charge more for those top speeds at a time when they're not selling as many devices.