While the speed of the 4G LTE networks available to U.S. consumers leave a lot to be desired, industry groups and wireless carriers are already eyeing the transition to 5G technology, which will likely be defined in 2018, codified in 2019, and deployed in 2020. While the standards for the technology are still years away from being set, it’s safe to say that 5G will be faster and less energy-intensive than 4G, which will bring faster smartphones, better smart home devices, and longer-lasting wearables. 5G smartphones will likely experience much lower latency than what we’re used to with 4G, which would mean faster-loading apps and websites, plus lightning-speed downloads of videos. As Jessi Hempel reports for Wired, we’ll need 5G networks both to make virtual reality useful in professional settings and to enable the sensors embedded in everything from watches to cars to work together seamlessly with low latency.
