CES 2019: Samsung unveils 5G smartphone prototype as wireless carriers usher in new era
Next generation of mobile communications, a big leap forward compared with 4G, was the main talking point at the international consumer electronics show
With the expected launch of 5G mobile services in the United States later this year, the next generation of mobile phone communications was a major theme at last week’s four-day International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, better known simply as CES 2019.
Samsung was the only handset maker to unveil a 5G smartphone prototype at the event, which ended on Friday, but major wireless carriers and equipment manufacturers turned out in force to demonstrate their 5G capabilities.
The next generation of mobile connectivity has drawn so much attention because it is not only an evolution of 4G, but a significant leap forward.
5G offers a download speed of 10Gbps (gigabits per second), which is 100 times faster than 4G’s 100Mbps (megabit per second). This speed is fast enough to download a 4K resolution film within seconds.
Another key benefit of 5G is its extremely low latency, or time delay in data communication. Compared with 4G’s latency of 50 milliseconds (ms), 5G has only 1ms, which is almost in real time.
This negligible time delay is expected to open up new applications, especially in areas including health care and the motor industry. For example, surgeons can make use of augmented reality to perform operations in other parts of the world in real time.
At CES 2019, Verizon – the largest wireless carrier in the US – held live video demonstrations of its 5G capabilities.
