5G has been commercially available for a year. Can consumers still buy 4G mobile phones?

5G has been in commercial use for more than a year, and the three operators have 180 million 5G users. On the other hand, 5G signals can be found in many places. In this market context, whether or not to buy a 4G phone has become a topic of great concern to consumers.

Since the elimination cycle of mobile phones is usually around 3-5 years, many consumers are worried that buying a 4G mobile phone will be too outdated. As 5G is accelerating its popularity, 4G mobile phones may be eliminated. As of now, although 5G has been commercially available for a year, 4G networks will not be eliminated in the next few years, so consumers will not be outdated if they buy a 4G mobile phone.

More importantly, it is difficult for 5G networks to be popularized in the short term, and consumers are more cost-effective to buy 4G mobile phones. It is undeniable that the three operators have developed 180 million users, but the penetration rate of 5G is still quite low. Public data shows that the scale of mobile phone users of the three domestic operators is 1.59 billion. In this way, the penetration rate of 5G is only about 11%.

At present, the scale of 4G users is very large, accounting for about 80% of the total users. Although more than 10,000 5G base stations are added in China every week, the coverage of 5G network is not large. As we all know, 5G network uses high frequency band and the signal penetration is relatively poor. In order to ensure signal coverage, the number of 5G base stations must be at least twice that of 4G base stations.

Data shows that as of the end of June this year, the three domestic operators had about 5.5 million 4G base stations. Conservative estimates show that to achieve coverage equivalent to that of the 4G network, at least 11 million 5G base stations must be built. The latest data shows that 700,000 5G base stations have been built in China, accounting for about 6% of the total. At the current construction speed, it will take more than a decade to complete the goal of building 11 million 5G base stations.

It is also revealed that the construction cycle of 5G network is about 5-8 years. Overall, it will take at least 5 years for 5G network to achieve full coverage. Considering that the elimination cycle of a mobile phone is about 4 years, consumers will not be outdated if they buy 4G mobile phones, nor will they be eliminated.

Since last year, many mobile phone manufacturers have switched to the 5G market and have not paid much attention to 4G mobile phones. However, there are still many cost-effective 4G mobile phones on the market, such as the iPhone 11 and the upcoming 4G version of Redmi Note 9. Strictly speaking, 5G networks currently only cover a small part of the country, and it is difficult for most consumers to experience 5G. Therefore, from the perspective of consumers, it is more cost-effective to buy 4G mobile phones at this stage.

As we all know, the entry-level iPhone 11 has now dropped below 4,000 yuan, and some e-commerce platforms only charge around 3,700 yuan, which is still very cost-effective. In addition, the upcoming 4G version of Redmi Note 9 is equipped with a 100-megapixel camera, which provides a better photo-taking experience. In comparison, the price of 5G phones is still relatively high. Moreover, if there is no 5G network coverage in the local area, consumers will buy 5G phones and use them as 4G phones, which is indeed a bit of a waste.

In addition, 5G charges are relatively high now, and many consumers are unwilling to upgrade to 5G packages. At present, the entry-level 5G packages of the three operators are 128 yuan, and the 4G unlimited data package is only about 50 yuan. Because of this, many consumers still prefer to use 4G mobile phones. More importantly, 5G has no other advantages except fast speed, and 5G-based applications are also quite scarce.

Overall, it is not outdated for consumers to buy 4G mobile phones now, and they will not be eliminated in the short term. Moreover, 4G mobile phones are cheaper. If there is no 5G network coverage in the area, the cost performance of 4G mobile phones is still quite high. However, if you want to experience faster Internet speeds, you might as well buy a 5G mobile phone in advance so that you can experience 5G as soon as possible.