Is it best to buy a 5g phone

Idontlikeworking

I'm looking to buy a new phone but I cannot decide if I need 5g so is it worth buying a 5g phone and turning the 5g off or are 4g phones better. I do have 5g in my area. 

oldernonethewiser

My phone has 5G capability but that was very low on the reasons to choose it. 

Things like camera, battery life, physical size and more were higher on my list of priorities. 

ballyblack

I can get 5g in my area but I need to be close to transmitter to see any change in speed

Also it drains the battery quicker, methinks its overrated with its very limited range

I use 4g, far more stable for me

PHK

ballyblack said:

I can get 5g in my area but I need to be close to transmitter to see any change in speed

Also it drains the battery quicker, methinks its overrated with its very limited range

I use 4g, far more stable for me

Draining the battery was true with the first generations of phones four or five years ago but it’s not a concern now. (Unless the OP is considering buying an older phone)

As providers switch off 3G and begin to turn on 5G SA  / VoNR I would say it’s important to have 5G to ensure that you continue to be able to make and receive calls in some areas.  

400ixl

Any half decent phone on the market now will be 5G capable. Those that aren't will likely have other gotcha's like a 32bit operating system which will limit the apps you can install.

There are far more features you need to be concerned about than avoiding 5G capability as its pointless really. Concentrate on those other features.

Murmansk

I guess it depends on how long you plan to keep the new phone for and whether you'll benefit from the extra speed of 5G. I did a speed test on my phone the other day when it was showing it was connected to 5G and using Speedtest by Ookla it was VERY fast but used about half a gigabyte of data in just a few seconds!

They have just started to turn off 3G so I'd imagine 4G will be around for a good decade yet

My recently purchased phone (Samsung A54) has 5G but it's not of much interest to me - perhaps of more interest is the fact that it can make use of ESIMs which are likely to be used much more in the near future and will allow you to install an ESIM for data when travelling if your current provider doesn't include European roaming, of if you go to a country outside the EU