5G is here, and your way of playing TikTok should also change

On June 6, 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued 5G commercial licenses to China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Broadcasting Corporation, marking that China has officially entered the 5G commercial era.

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Regarding 5G, there is a lot of publicity saying that it will change our lives. But then again, for ordinary users like us who are not practitioners, I only have a 5G mobile phone. What exactly will be different in my daily life? What kind of changes will it bring?

1. The most notable features of 5G

Before discussing 5G life, let's first look at 5G technology itself. Putting aside professional terms, 5G, the fifth generation of mobile communication technology, has the following three major improvements compared to its predecessor 4G: 1. Higher bandwidth; 2. Lower latency; 3. Faster speed.

In short, it is just one word: fast. The most intuitive feeling is that the network connection is more stable and the transmission speed is faster. Let's take a look at a simple speed test comparison.

The old house uses China Telecom, and the speed is measured in the open space between high-rise buildings in the center of Shanghai. The obstruction of the buildings has a certain impact on the signal, but we can still see that the download bandwidth speed of the 5G signal (left picture) is basically 8 or 9 times that of the 4G network (right picture). If the signal can be better, I believe that the download rate will reach more than 1000Mbps without any problem. The transmission speed is 10 times that of the 4G network and it is not an exaggeration.

2. In the 5G era, will video be popular first?

Based on the above speed test chart, we can make a simple conversion. With a download rate of 700Mbps, the actual download speed can reach nearly 90MB/s, and the upload speed can reach 12MB/s.

The promotion and application of 5G has accelerated the transmission speed of data. For ordinary users, the most intuitive feeling is nothing more than three points: faster download speed, faster file transfer and faster video opening (buffering). So when the concept of 5G was first introduced, many people predicted that "in the 5G era, video will be popular first". Now that 5G is really here, combined with actual usage, is it really the case?

Let me state my attitude first. Lao Fang thinks, yes.

In the 4G era, a number of short video apps, represented by TikTok, have become popular, and short video sharing is also popular on WeChat Moments. However, most of these short video sharing platforms limit the length of content to about ten seconds, and the reasons for this are nothing more than the following:

1. Transmission speed limitation

In the 4G era, the maximum download speed is only about 10MB/s, and the upload speed is even lower, averaging about 2MB. Videos that are too long have larger files and slower sharing speeds.

2. Restrictions on operator traffic charges

Yes, the data charges in the 4G era are actually not cheap. Taking China Mobile as an example, without discounts, the 100-yuan package only provides 10G of data per month, and you have to use it sparingly wherever you go. That’s why Internet terms such as “multiple picture warnings” and “dissuading data traffic users from using more data” have become popular.

3. Limitations of a fast-paced life

Of course, this is not absolute, but in such a busy time, it is not surprising that people are more inclined to the "short, flat and fast" consumption concept.

In the 5G era, the first problem has been solved. The transmission speed has increased tenfold, the waiting time has been greatly shortened, and people are more willing to share.

The second question is about the traffic charges. Let’s take China Mobile as an example. The current cheaper package is 128 yuan per month, which includes 30G of 5G traffic. Judging from the traffic alone, it is much more than the 4G package. Many friends have expressed that 5G is very traffic-intensive. In fact, this is just a misunderstanding. As long as you use it according to your usual habits, the only thing that will be improved is the speed, not the additional traffic. However, it should be noted that the increase in speed saves time, and correspondingly we can do more things in the same time, so the use of traffic will definitely increase accordingly. Moreover, in the 4G network, if you accidentally click to update the software or download the video, in order to save traffic, you can still click to cancel in time, but at the speed of 5G, before you have time to cancel, the download is completed, and the traffic is gone. Of course, the most important point is, don’t run the speed test casually, don’t ask me how I know, it’s all tears to say it out...

Regarding the third question, in fact, in Lao Fang's opinion, people's living habits are actually greatly affected by technological development. The 4G network has accelerated the speed of data exchange and promoted the rapid development of a series of industries such as short videos, takeout, and online shopping. 5G, with this ten-fold qualitative improvement, can drive the development of a number of industries that require big data exchange. To give a simple example, the 3G era was like an old-fashioned green train, and people experienced that cities could be connected within a few days; the 4G era was like a high-speed train, and it became a reality to leave in the morning and arrive in the evening; and 5G can be regarded as a maglev train, a distance of 50 kilometers, just listen to a song and you will arrive, it's that fast. Speed ​​has changed people's lifestyles. With the further improvement of speed, who knows whether people's habits will change again?

3. How can videos become popular in the 5G era?

Different from the “short, flat and fast” of the 4G era, Lao Fang believes that video sharing in the 5G era may have the following characteristics.

1. Longer playback time

Just like with the maglev train, it used to take me an hour to get to the airport, but now it only takes 8 minutes, and I can make full use of the remaining time to do other things. In the video field, there is no longer a long wait, buffering is completed instantly, and every movie is played in seconds. The time saved can be used to enjoy longer content.

2. Higher video quality

The quality mentioned here includes two aspects. One is the quality of the video file, that is, the resolution, frame rate, bit rate, audio quality, etc. Of course, it can also be simply understood as in the past, in order to speed up the buffering speed, only 480P (standard definition) was watched. Now 1080P (high-definition) videos can be clicked at will. Anyway, they are refreshed in seconds. High-definition video brings a more pleasant viewing experience. Why not? You should know that the bit rate of the original disc of 4K Blu-ray movies is below 80Mbps. In theory, 4G networks can play it, and 5G networks are even more of a piece of cake. The second is the quality of the video content. Videos with high resolution and high frame rate can show more details, and relatively rough production can be seen at a glance. This will of course force professional video content sharers to work hard on the production of video content.

4. Video Experience for Non-professional Users in the 5G Era

Earlier, we discussed our expectations and opinions about video content as viewers under 5G networks. Now let’s talk about our own video experience as non-professional users in the 5G era.

The most direct change is that video sharing will be available anytime and anywhere, without having to worry about the network speed. For example, you may have happily shot a video and wanted to share it with your friends, but after ten minutes, only a small part of it has been uploaded, and your enthusiasm is instantly dampened. In a 5G network, this situation will no longer exist. Even if you send the original video file directly by email, it will only take a few seconds. Your good mood can be shared with your friends instantly, and the ways of communication will become more diversified.

In addition, live video will become more available anytime and anywhere, of course, not just for professional anchors, but more for ordinary users, with high bandwidth and low latency, thousands of miles away, in sync with you. Imagine sharing a concert with friends who are unable to come for some reason (of course, this may not be allowed), singing together; or asking a distant expert for real-time guidance when encountering a problem at work, and synchronized fine operations.

Correspondingly, video shooting equipment will become more professional. The most commonly used shooting equipment for consumers is the mobile phone. One of the key functions of 5G mobile phones in the future will definitely be video shooting. For example, the Reno3 series 5G video mobile phone recently released by OPPO has added a video super anti-shake function, allowing users to take out their mobile phones to shoot clear and stable videos without having to carry a gimbal stabilizer with them, reducing the weight and providing hardware guarantee for the free sharing of videos in the 5G era.

In the 5G era, video will be the first to become popular, and this will gradually become a reality with the development of technology.