When 5G was launched, it was touted as a game-changing technology when it comes to mobile connectivity.
We were promised gigabit per second speeds and minimal latencies🇧🇷 Sales of 5G phones showed that consumers were excited enough about the technology to upgrade their handsets.
Although, reality does not match expectations🇧🇷 Poor 5G coverage in most locations means speeds are similar to 4G networks. Even if you get gigabit speeds, there is no mobile app that takes advantage of this feature.
Now, Financial Times reports that consumer demand for 5G has dropped.
Even in Southeast Asian markets, which rolled out 5G much faster than most European and North American countries, consumer demand for 5G smartphones has started to wane.
In the second quarter of this year, there was a 7% drop in sales of 5G devices, to 24.5 million, according to a recent report by Canalys, a company that analyzes technology markets.
“The 5G hype has waned and demand has shifted towards more practical aspects of smartphones such as battery life, storage, processor speed and camera quality,” says Chiew Le Xuan, analyst at canalys. “Everyone is feeling the pinch and the practical uses of 5G remain to be seen.” He maintains that, in the vast majority of cases, 4G speeds are sufficient for everyday use.
Mobile operators have spent hundreds of billions of euros buying 5G spectrum and building 5G infrastructure, and now many are worried about whether this investment will be profitable.
With intense competition keeping prices for 5G products low, Carriers try to recoup some of their infrastructure investment by convincing consumers to upgrade to higher rates that offer more data.
But the global cost-of-living crisis could undermine that strategy, especially as the new products offer only small advantages over the old ones.