Should I Buy A 5G Phone Now Or Wait?

The first 5G phones just hit the market in the US. As tech geeks, we’re pretty charged up about the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, the LG V50, and the Moto Z3 and Z4 with their 5G mods. But should you, an average consumer, buy a 5G phone now? No.

- Sascha Segan

If you’re developing 5G applications or solutions, or you want to use a 5G hotspot to run your business in the extremely limited current 5G areas, you’ll want one of these first-gen phones since you’re building the technology that regular consumers will use next year.

But everyone else—regular consumers—should wait. Here’s why.

COVERAGE IS WAY TOO LIMITED

There’s very little 5G out there right now. As of this writing, Verizon has 5G in small parts of Chicago and Minneapolis. AT&T claims to have it in 19 cities, but there may only be a few cell sites in each city. Sprint has it in four cities. And T-Mobile hasn’t officially launched 5G at all.

For most people, finding 5G right now will be like an extremely geeky game of Pokemon Go. Wait until the carriers have better citywide coverage.