Verizon Begins Selling the US’ First 5G Phone, Capable of Gigabit Download Speeds

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Verizon has started selling the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, the US’ first 5G phone, for $1,299.99. Real-world tests have shown it can reach download speeds past 1Gbps, which is good news for those who have been championing the viability and potential of a 5G data network.

Verizon’s 5G networks have only been switched on in Chicago and Minneapolis thus far, with coverage limited to specific areas. Still, CNET experienced great results in the former’s downtown area, describing the speeds as “mind blowing.”

At one fast spot (and with a 4G phone serving as a stopwatch), I downloaded Season 2 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (in 4K) from Amazon Prime Video in under 5 minutes. That’s roughly 10 hours of footage. The 4G phone took 4 minutes to finish downloading the first episode.

There are a handful of caveats, however. A big one is that Verizon’s mmWave type of 5G suffers 70% signal loss through windows and walls. It’ll also be interesting to see how much speeds suffer after adoption grows.

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Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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