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5G is the latest and (supposedly) greatest wireless standard. With speeds that can sometimes rival home internet, you may be wondering if using 5G means you’ll burn through even more data. But is that really true? Let’s find out.
The first 5G-enabled smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S20, launched in March 2020. Since then, we’ve seen a large number of 5G-enabled smartphones and other devices. Faster internet speeds are great, but is it worth it if you use up more data in the process?
RELATED: What is 5G and how fast is it?
5G does not use data
Here’s the thing: your internet connection actually has nothing to do with how much data you use. 5G, or LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, etc., do not use data, they determine the speed at which data travels.
Think of 5G or any other internet connection like the speed limit on a highway. The speed limit determines how fast cars can drive; not how many cars may be on the road. Five cars is five cars, regardless of the speed limit.
The same can be said of 5G. If you’re downloading a 1 GB file, that’s how much data you’re using. It doesn’t matter if the file downloads in 30 seconds or five minutes. 1 GB is 1 GB. So if your internet usage habits are the same with 5G as they are with LTE, you won’t use any more data.
Faster speeds let you do more
That last statement is the key to this question. Doing the same things in 5G as you did with LTE won’t use more data, but the faster speeds of 5G can let you do blackberries stuff, and that’s what can consume data.
Let’s say you like to watch Netflix on your phone while you don’t have Wi-Fi. With LTE, you can stream in 720p to avoid buffering. Faster 5G speeds can let you watch in full 1080p without stuttering. 1080p streaming will definitely use more data than 720p streaming.
The faster speeds give you a little more freedom. You can stream music from Spotify in higher quality. Browse more web pages while you wait for the train. Watch more videos on your Facebook feed. Being able to do more of these things is what adds up to using more data.
RELATED: Why unlimited mobile data isn’t really unlimited
To answer the question directly, 5G has the potential to make you use more data. However, it’s not really about 5G itself, it’s about how 5G enables you to use your device. 5G doesn’t force you to use more data, it’s simply a byproduct of being able to do more in the same amount of time it took to do less with LTE.
The good news is that iPhone and Android devices have built-in tools to help you monitor how much data you’re using. You can set alerts when you reach certain limits or enable “low data mode” to reduce the amount of data you’re using.
RELATED: How to Track Your Data Usage on Android
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