These Phones Speeds Are Getting Out of Control

I probably use more bandwidth than my mom, but probably not more bandwidth than a teenager that just binge watches every show they want to because they are bored. And chances are, these kids are watching a lot of their shows on their phones.

Samsung just released their newest, fanciest phone that is touting 5g speeds. Awesome! But how much bandwidth do we really need? The most bandwidth is used when watching video. Think about it, most shows are recorded and streamed at 30 frames per second. That’s 30 pictures per second. Note: I know I am simplifying things concerning compression.

So let’s look at what Netflix recommends for video:

Ultra HD quality (which they recommend for a 4k TV) needs 25 megabits per second. HD quality only needs 5.

My phone is on a carrier that isn’t the fastest, but it is fast enough. In fact, I can almost get enough to run Ultra HD (which I don’t need on a small screen like a phone). Check it out:

My question is, why 5g? Who even needs that on their phone? If anyone thinks they need a phone with 5g, I’d love to ask them what they are using it for. Of course, if you are running your whole household off of it, then that makes sense.

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