Faster, better, and the future of mobile internet, 5G is certainly the connection you want on your smartphone. It means faster speeds for when you want to download something in a hurry, as well as being able to stream video more efficiently while sitting on the train during your daily commute. 

With speeds potentially being 100 times faster than standard 4G, the new norm is going to be spectacularly speedy (providing you live in an area that supports 5G). 

What does that mean for your smartwatch or fitness wearable though? It's not as though you'll find yourself often downloading hefty files to your watch or fitness tracker, after all. So, will 5G really make a significant difference to smartwatch users? 

With a growing trend for wearables to be self-sufficient rather than relying on smartphone connectivity, there's huge potential for growth here, but not necessarily in the same way that you'll see with your smartphone. The importance of 5G to wearables is a little more complicated than simply being faster. 

What we do know so far is that the way we use our beloved wearables could be set to change rapidly over the coming years. 

Speed isn't everything

So we all know that the best thing about 5G is its huge speed advantage over 4G, but there's more to it than that. 5G is smarter. It offers lower latency so its response times are speedier. 

For a phone, that might mean a faster-loading webpage due to a lower ping, but for a smartwatch that means exchanging data faster so, for instance, you won't have to wait for map updates or your step counter to sync up. 

In theory, it'll all just work automatically rather than leaving you to stand around waiting for your data to sync with relevant accounts. 

5G can also handle more users simultaneously than 4G because it can co-exist alongside other wireless signals without any risk of interference, as it operates on three different spectrum bands. 

For a smartphone, that means it can operate at a high enough speed to stream the latest Netflix hit uninterrupted – but the next-gen mobile network will also improve our wearables, too. 

Theories suggest that 5G devices could have two different modes available to them - a high-speed and high-bandwidth mode for streaming and downloading, and a low-power, long-life mode for a better battery life and improved reliability. While few smartphone users will be interested in the latter, a long and reliable battery life lends itself perfectly to smartwatches and wearables.

Through 5G, it's possible to have thousands of wearables connected within a small geographical area without disruption. Something that will be immediately appealing to those who live in busy cities that can have congested airwaves. 

The cloud just got bigger

With the rise of 5G, all devices may no longer need substantial physical storage to be built into them. With faster connections, lower latency and effectively instantaneous transmissions, users could simply store all their apps and files on the cloud rather than requiring their smartphone or wearable device to include physical storage. 

That has a few benefits tied into it. By turning your smartwatch or fitness wearable into a gateway for your data, it means that they can also become smaller. 

Instead of having chunky devices that contain lots of physical storage, manufacturers could focus on providing more advanced sensors and better batteries. Wearables could also simply look smaller, sleeker and more fashionable – something that's particularly relevant in the case of ring or necklace based trackers. 

Most wearables are able to track how far you've run, your current heart rate, and your location, but all of these features are typically somewhat inaccurate at times. 

With more nano sensors built into them, we could benefit from sleek-looking wearables that are also highly accurate, right down to being able to measure body temperature or other vital signs. For the avid runner, this could mean no longer needing a heart monitor strap as well as a smartwatch, for example. 

The idea of wearables that work as your own personal trainer or doctor is far more likely with 5G too, especially if it frees up storage space and makes data they capture more accurate. 

Smarter use of smaller technology

More space for a better battery, in conjunction with 5G's more efficient use of power, could also go some way to reducing the smartwatch's biggest obstacle up until this point – its limited battery life.

Smaller wearables in the future may also lead to a growth in smart clothing. Smart clothing already exists, but it's limited in scope and popularity currently. 

5G and the implementation of wearable antennas within the material of clothing could be exactly what's needed to boost the popularity of smart clothing. It might sound like science fiction right now but a recent paper has suggested that 5G antennas could be manufactured from conductive threads and adhesives. 

What's next for smartwatches, fitness trackers and 5G?

Smartwatches and fitness trackers have come a long way in a short space of time. It wasn't that long ago that smartwatches relied on users to also have their smartphone with them at all times. 

Now, you can easily spend the day with just your smartwatch on your wrist and you won't miss out on key features like making contactless payments or tracking your exercise. That's important if manufacturers want wearables to continue to be popular. 

Right now, smartphones are seen as an essential part of daily life, but wearables and smartwatches are usually just a welcome 'bonus' to those that can afford them. 5G has the potential to change all that. 

If 5G technology is able to reduce the size of wearables, while enhancing the battery life, that could be exactly what's needed to convince the general public that they need smart technology on their fingers, wrists, or neck. 

Therefore, 5G has the potential to change how we consume wearable technology massively – simply put, it'll be fascinating to see what the first few 5G wearables offer. 

5G Uncovered, in association with Samsung, brings you everything you need to know about the next wave of connectivity - not just how fast it's going to be, but in just how many ways it's going to change your life. Our 5G Uncovered hub is carefully curated to show everything there is to know about the next generation of connection.   

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There's no denying that 5G is kind of a big deal. Partially launched in the UK (depending on your network and location), it means faster speeds when on the move and lower latency so things like streaming video just got better. 

With a more reliable connection, you'll be able to enjoy higher quality video calls, download content while on the train, and even stream gaming sessions from your phone. 

It's likely that 5G connections will be 100 times faster than a standard 4G connection. That's not all either as, in theory, it'll all be far faster than many home broadband connections too, with 5G estimated to hit average speeds of 80-100Mbps.

So, what could it mean for changing the mobile landscape? Well, quite a lot. It could mean downloading a boxset within seconds while on your commute, and it could also mean more reliable conference calls, with no latency slowing down responses between you and your boss. 

All that is only possible with the right network though, and there's quite the battle right now between major UK networks to see who comes out on top in the race to 5G. Let's take a look at where each of the main networks are right now. 

EE

The largest mobile phone network in the UK, EE has nearly 30 million customers, and it's clearly keen to maintain that foothold via the rise of 5G. It's the first network to launch a 5G network and is therefore immediately appealing to anyone keen to be ahead of the rest. However, your mileage will vary massively depending on where you live.

The service is only currently available in limited parts of Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, and Manchester. If you live in one of those cities, it's the network you need to be with. Plans are afoot to expand that number to 16 by the end of the year, including Bristol, Coventry, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield. 

The network currently offers four 5G launch devices to choose from. There's the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, OPPO Reno 5G, and LG V50 ThinQ. In addition, EE is keen to embrace the idea of mobile broadband taking over from fixed-line broadband with the 5GEE Home Router and 5GEE WiFi in the pipeline. For now, interested customers can register their interest. 

EE did a pretty good job in the past with 4G and spreading it across the country, so it makes sense that the firm would be doing similar with 5G. 

Vodafone

The third largest mobile network, Vodafone is second out of the gate with 5G and has a fairly strong plan. Set to launch its 5G network on July 3, the service will be available in seven locations from day one – London, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Bristol. 

Another 12 locations are planned by the end of the year, including Birkenhead, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Guildford, Newbury, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Reading, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Warrington and Wolverhampton.

However, Vodafone only has two 5G devices available for launch. There's the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G that's also available at EE, along with the Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G. 

That's slim pickings for anyone keen to find the perfect smartphone for them. There's also the Vodafone 5G GigaCube, a wireless router that aims to bring 5G into the home but, much like EE, that's a 'register interest' kind of deal for now.

While Vodafone may offer more locations that have a 5G network, they're already a little behind EE when it comes to how you use it. Still, that won't matter for people in slightly smaller cities that are desperate for 5G as soon as possible. 

O2

The second largest mobile network in the UK, O2 isn't exactly forthcoming about its 5G plans. Simply announcing that its 5G network will launch in 2019, the network has plans for four cities to have 5G available through its service. 

Those places comprise the capitals of the UK – London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Belfast. No other details have been released regarding other city rollouts in the future. 

There's also the issue that potentially, O2 will only offer one launch device, which looks likely to be the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G. An announcement was made in May that O2 would also stock the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G but given recent issues with Huawei, this could end up changing. If you don't want a Samsung handset, O2's 5G coverage isn't going to be for you. 

O2 isn't exactly looking appealing to early adopters, but then it does still offer an impressive 99% population coverage with 4G (and has recently improved its rural coverage) so it's a safe infrastructure to fall back on when you're not in a 5G area. If you know you’re going to regularly travel to areas without a 5G network, O2 is a decent option, even if it's a little slow on the 5G uptake. 

Three

If you thought O2's plans were a little vague, that's nothing compared to Three's plans. Firmly behind in the race to 5G supremacy, the firm has merely confirmed its 5G network launch in 2019 and named one city that will benefit – London. 

The Huawei Mate 20 X 5G has been mentioned as a possible launch device, but that's it, and it seems unlikely to come to fruition. 

Keen to embrace 5G as quickly as possible? In that case, it's best to give Three a miss. Its vagueness is far from appealing and the network is well and truly last in the race. 

The winner

EE is currently miles ahead of the competition. First to launch a 5G network, it also offers the most 5G compatible devices. Plus, it's available right now rather than requiring you to wait till later in the year. 

Its coverage plans aren't quite as extensive yet as Vodafone's, but if you're looking to pick a 5G network right now (and you live in a relevant city), you can't really go wrong with EE. 

With such plans in place, it's about time that O2 and Three shake things up and actually release some concrete details so potential 5G adopters actually know where to go next for their super fast speed fix. 

5G Uncovered, in association with Samsung, brings you everything you need to know about the next wave of connectivity - not just how fast it's going to be, but in just how many ways it's going to change your life. Our 5G Uncovered hub is carefully curated to show everything there is to know about the next generation of connection.   

• 5G: everything you need to know

Much has been said about 5G being the future for mobile technology. After all, it's the natural next step after 4G and promises to be substantially faster than anything we've seen before. 

We're not just talking about incremental speed boosts either, as it's been suggested that 5G will be 100 times faster than standard 4G. So far, that seems to be the case, but how will it help the average user? 

Particularly in the case of the smart home, 5G technology has the potential to revolutionize. That is, if you buy into the hype and speculation that's already rampant while we wait for 5G devices to launch. 

The smart home is an environment a growing number of us live in – a household that, besides possessing laptops and smartphones, also contains IoT (Internet of Things) gadgets, from smart speakers like the Amazon Echo to smart lightbulbs and smart locks, right down to all-in-one gadgets like Google Home Hub. 

Connected devices are a great way of streamlining how you do things around the home, but it's limited too, thanks to speed restrictions and other issues. Could 5G be the savior that makes the smart home a more appealing proposition to all?

• What is 5G? Everything you need to know

Faster and more efficient smart devices

It's important to know that 5G isn't just faster. It's also vastly more efficient in how it approaches things. It offers lower latency so its response times are speedier and it's also generally smarter. 

It can handle more users simultaneously than 4G due to its ability to co-exist alongside other wireless signals without any risk of interference. 5G operates on three different spectrum bands which means it can be as fast as it needs to be, depending on the device that's connecting to it. That frees up capacity for users in busy areas and reduces slowdown at peak times. 

The downside? Higher band spectrums need a clear and direct line of sight to the relevant mast to work as well. That means cities will need to install more 5G masts compared to how 4G was applied in the past. Potentially, we may all need some form of antenna or hub in our homes to get the most from the service. 

However, being able to cope with so many different connections at once is a huge advantage for 5G. Wireless connections are consistently under demand from many different sources all at once and often, becoming overloaded with different users and devices is a hefty bottleneck for receiving a high quality service. 

Take a look around your home. How many devices already use a wireless connection in some way? It's likely that your TV, games consoles, smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, and laptops all depend on a strong wireless connection to work effectively. 

But what about if you add a smart speaker or hub to the mix? Or a smart lightbulb system? Or locks? The list is near never-ending nowadays, with even large appliances like refrigerators or microwaves coming with smart home technology built-in. 

During setup, many of these devices create their own Wi-Fi network before switching over to the main home network. Others rely on Bluetooth for the early stages of setup. 

In either case, 5G can provide a more consistent form of service, consolidating setup and ensuring that things are easier to get started. It's the kind of thing that can make smart home technology far more accessible and more intelligently designed, thereby encouraging more users to embrace IoT. 

Low latency is another way in which 5G could improve smart homes significantly. In the case of security camera systems like Ring and Nest, every millisecond counts. Being able to view what's going on outside your home is useful but only if the response rate means the pictures update rapidly. 

A 5G connection means a theoretical response rate of 1 or 2ms compared to a home broadband connection of 10-20ms (at best). Instantly, it makes a security system more attractive to the concerned homeowner. 

Overall, 5G could be far superior to a home broadband connection. Faster, theoretically more reliable, and even potentially cheaper – however, there are issues to work through first. 

Replacing broadband

There are conflicting reports as to what 5G means for power consumption. While it's more energy-efficient in principle, it also requires more masts to work effectively. 

Like with any new technology, it's also likely to have a knock on effect on the battery life of portable devices like 5G smartphones and wearables; it's something that will take time to improve. 

There's also the fact that you'll need to replace your current smartphones and gadgets to be able to use 5G. That's less of an issue for smartphones as many of us upgrade regularly, but swapping out smart home systems and infrastructures isn't for the faint hearted  – or for anyone counting the pennies. 

It's reasonably likely that for a time, 5G will co-exist alongside existing home broadband setups. Base stations are key here with, with homes potentially having a 5G hub alongside a hardwired broadband solution. 

That means increased reliability in the home (all-important when even your lighting depends on your internet connection), as well as the eventual step away from the need for a landline. 

After all, when did you last make a call from your home phone line? It also gives users time to adapt to 5G, slowly swapping out older devices for new ones that support the new protocol. 

While business related, the future can be seen a little through the eyes of Huawei's plans for the InterContinental Shenzhen hotel in China: 

Currently in the midst of a makeover, it's set to be the world's first 5G smart hotel. That means continuous 5G coverage for users, but also things like 5G-powered 'welcome robots', cloud gaming, virtual reality rowing machines, and the ability to seamlessly stream 4K movies. 

Everyone likes a speedy internet connection and one that enables them to do more. 5G looks set to make smart homes even easier to set up and live amongst than before.– it's just going to take a little time and adaptation to get there. 

5G Uncovered, in association with Samsung, brings you everything you need to know about the next wave of connectivity - not just how fast it's going to be, but in just how many ways it's going to change your life. Our 5G Uncovered hub is carefully curated to show everything there is to know about the next generation of connection.   

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