For most mobile users, How 5G Networks will help.. the hardware and software their device runs are by far the most important considerations when it comes to purchasing and updating their phones. Processing power, battery life, storage, and similar issues are always put at the forefront of manufacturers’ marketing efforts and have dictated the direction of innovation since mobile technology became widespread.
The issue of network capability has always been secondary to that – after all, all devices run on the same network, and except for certain instances of global use and device connectivity, this has never really been a key point for consumers on the hunt for the latest technology on offer. All that may well change with the adoption of 5G networking, which promises a major change in the way that mobile devices operate.
5G will change everything.
4G can be considered a minor upgrade on 3G – using the same network to provide incrementally faster connectivity, up to 1Gb/s. 4G can work well for things like streaming high definition videos and downloading significant media attachments, or video calling and updating apps, and mobile devices have been built with those sorts of requirements in mind. 5G will blow that out of the water.
With speeds of up to 20Gb/s and vastly improved latency (reaction time) to go with it, 5G makes possible a raft of technologies that would be impossible to implement with slower networks. One area of particular significance for software developers is the possibility of offloading processing to central computers and databases – turning what has so far been a mobile processing center into a terminal for much more powerful computing.
New data handling potentials.
5G offers the possibility of practically real-time data transfer in huge quantities, meaning that mobile devices will be able to transmit and receive data more quickly than their users can input them in many circumstances. This has real significance in areas from Augmented Reality to Video Communication;
with the practically unlimited potential of offboarded computing, data from mobile handsets can be processed and returned to the device almost in real-time, and distributed processing and storage will become a more practical solution than device-bound technologies.
How can developers meet the 5G challenge?
The big challenge for mobile development companies is how best to utilize this new networking capability. While initial roll-out will mainly see traditional technologies improve – as inevitably, older devices will still need to operate on the networks that are available – the potential for high-speed networked computing may well spark a gold-rush scenario as developers compete to find ways to implement the new capabilities in ways that provide real benefits to consumers.
With the increase in sensor capabilities on many new devices, Augmented and Virtual Reality applications are likely to be at the forefront of this technological race.
With centralized AI’s ability to analyze and crunch big data, mobile technology may well find itself in a golden era of development, with the ability to provide detailed information on anything a camera is pointed at just one example of technologies that could benefit.
Ultimately, the scene is set for new users of this technology to be adopted as standard across the market, making it an exciting time for mobile developers and users alike.
