5G coming to Samsung phones with new Qualcomm chips in 2019

YouTube/Qualcomm

• On Tuesday, chipmaker Qualcomm announced the first mobile
  chip that supports the 5G mobile network.
• 5G is the evolution of 4G LTE, and promises faster and more
  reliable speeds. 
• Verizon, AT&T, and Samsung also announced that a
  5G-capable smartphone will be available in early 2019. 
• 5G will be the biggest differentiating feature of smartphones
  in 2019, but only a few cities will have access to 5G carrier
  networks when they begin launching. 

Chipmaker Qualcomm announced its new mobile processor, the
Snapdragon 855, which will enable mobile devices to connect to
the latest mobile networking standard, 5G. 

5G is the evolution of the 4G LTE networks that most smartphones
connect to for data and internet. The main benefits of 5G include
significantly faster data speeds, as well as significantly less
latency. If you have any issues streaming a video over the
current 4G LTE network, for example, 5G should supposedly fix
that.

Qualcomm’s announcement means that some Android smartphones in
2019 are likely to have 5G connectivity, provided manufacturers
take advantage of the chip.

There are two variants of the Snapdragon 855 processor: One with
5G support, and one without. While each new generation of
Snapdragon usually finds its way into flagship Android phones,
it’s unclear which models will run the Snapdragon 855 with 5G
connectivity. 

Samsung’s Galaxy S9
phone.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Business
Insider

So far, Verizon and AT&T have confirmed that Samsung will
release a 5G-capable smartphone in the first half of 2019. Which
device, exactly, wasn’t specified, but almost every finger is
pointing towards
Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S10 smartphone. 

With that said, Verizon and AT&T’s 5G networks will only be
available in a small number of markets when smartphones running
Qualcomm’s 5G-enabled chips roll out. 

So far, AT&T’s 5G rollout will only include 12 cities in the
USA by the end of 2018: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Waco,
Jacksonville, Louisville, New Orleans, Atlanta, Charlotte,
Raleigh, Indianapolis, and Oklahoma City.

As for Verizon, the company has only just begun rolling out its
5G home internet service this year to four cities, including
Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.
Verizon’s 5G service for smartphones will only begin rolling
out in “early 2019.”

T-Mobile is also developing its 5G network with an estimated
roll-out of 2020. The carrier is promising that its own 5G
network will be available nationwide rather than in a few cities.

A
worker climbs on a cellular communication tower on March 6, 2014
in Oakland, California.
Justin
Sullivan/Getty

5G poses an exciting prospect, as it promises faster and more
reliable connectivity to common data-intensive tasks, like
streaming video, video calls, streaming music, and general
smartphone use. 5G will, indeed, be the killer feature for
smartphones of 2019, and it’ll be a big differentiator. 

However, 5G won’t burst onto the smartphone scene. At first, 5G’s
rollout is likely to be slow and gradual, with only a few devices
having 5G connectivity at first, and it’ll only be available in a
few markets initially.

We also have yet to see how well 5G will work on mobile devices,
as 5G primarily transmits on the “millimeter wave” spectrum that
has trouble penetrating walls and other obstacles. It’s even been
said that a tree’s leaves could interfere with the strength of a
5G signal. The potential limitation of 5G could be a reason why
it’s
unlikely we’ll see 5G-capable iPhones next year.

Either way, early 2019 will give us a better idea of what to
expect with 5G. 

Apart from 5G connectivity, Qualcomm also announced its “3D Sonic
Sensor,” a fingerprint scanner for smartphones that will lay
underneath the screen completely hidden from sight. The 3D Sonic
Sensor will use ultrasonic waves to register fingerprints, which
is said to be more accurate and reliable than similar in-display
fingerprint sensors you’d find on phones like the OnePlus
6T.