Samsung Galaxy S10 5G speed tests carried out on Verizon in Chicago have shown that the device and service are capable of delivering blazing speeds – when you can manage to get a 5G signal.
And the limited coverage isn’t the only challenge to getting 5G connections on the device: you also have to be careful how you hold it …
Digital Trends carried out the tests, and the headline numbers were seriously impressive.
And that does translate to real-world benefits.
The Galaxy S10 5G put those numbers to shame. The network is more developed, so the highest I hit on the S10 5G with the same Speedtest app was 1.35Gbps. That’s right, Gigabit.
However, the first issue with millimeter wave 5G is that range is incredibly limited – and the signals don’t penetrate walls.
Imagine if these 5G nodes were at the airport — you could potentially download several seasons of a show in minutes before boarding the plane. This is the most immediate and most noticeable improvement we’ll see with 5G.
It’s not just walls which block the signals: your hands can too.
Verizon says standing right next to the node won’t deliver better results. Standing directly opposite it is also not ideal, as I couldn’t connect to 5G at all. That’s because the node is shooting 5G parallel to the street. As the network matures, beamforming technology will help target 5G straight to your phone, so this shouldn’t be as big of an issue.
Ultimately, the site’s Julian Chokkattu concluded that the Galaxy S10 5G speed benefit is too theoretical at present, given the tiny number of places where it’s available, and the fact that even there you can lose coverage within the space of a single city block.
Photo: Digital Trends
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