Remember when phone makers called everything 4G to ride the wave of the hot new technology trend LTE? Remember how annoying that got? They’re at it again, this time with 5G. We shouldn’t be surprised, but you don’t have to tell us about it. 5G is in the biggest markets. You don’t have to tell us you have phones with 5G. We’re more surprised and interested when phones don’t have it.

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The confusing terminology explained

A brief history of 5G

Unfulfilled dreams and broken promises

5G is the fifth generation of wireless networks after LTE (4G), 3G, GSM (2G) and 1G. Every decade or so, a new generation of network standards advances the industry, and 5G is no different.

Samsung launched the first 5G phone in March 2019, a few months after AT&T activated the first 5G network in the U.S. The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G started a trend of branding every phone as 5G, and some carriers rebranded their faster LTE networks as 5G to capitalize on the trend.

The practical benefits of 5G go beyond faster data speeds. Still, the allure of fast downloads or buffer-free streaming is an incentive. 5G’s lower latency means life-saving applications in medicine, the ability of cars to communicate with infrastructure and drive themselves, and much more.

5G is mature

It used to be cool, now it doesn’t matter

Like AI today, 5G was once the buzzword in tech. Everything was about 5G or New Radio (the NR in 5G NR), and most of the promises around 5G still haven’t been fulfilled. Instead, the world has moved on. Now phone makers have to stick an AI tag on their phones instead.

As with LTE, we heard promises about the future possibilities of 5G and how it would change the world. Instead, we got more of the same network congestion, little promise about the benefits for the automotive and smart city industries, and different definitions of what real 5G is.

None of this is a surprise. With 5G being so ubiquitous in technology, we don’t need to be told that 5G exists, at least in the United States.

Why you sometimes have to call it 5G

5G is not yet dominant worldwide

5G is ubiquitous in the world’s major markets, so companies don’t need to remind us that their phones have 5G. However, they do need to inform customers outside of those markets, as 5G is less common there.

Take Motorola, for example, which inspired this post with the new Moto G Power 5G. Yes, that’s the official name, with 2024 at the end to distinguish it from last year’s Moto G Power 5G. I hope you can imagine me rolling my eyes.

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Motorola is no longer a pioneer in producing low-cost Android phones

Motorola is the second largest phone maker in Latin America (LATAM) with a 22% market share. Many of its cheaper devices are sold in the US in LATAM. 5G is just beginning to roll out in many LATAM countries. Even in a market like Brazil, one of the most advanced LATAM countries, it has barely overtaken 2G.

In Brazil, 5G is not expected to overtake 4G until 2029. In the US, 6G, the next generation of networks, is expected to hit the market around the same time.

Phones in the US do not need a 5G label

Just rename it like most phones

Most phones in the US, especially from Motorola, are rebranded versions of the same phone that was released outside the US under a different name. Some of these have slight changes or variations in specs (and special radio systems like mmWave), but why are some phones rebranded and others not?

If Motorola can launch a phone in the US as the Moto Edge+, then the Moto G Power 5G can launch as the Moto G Power. Regardless, you don’t need to tell us your phone has 5G. We know 5G will soon be upgraded to 5G Advanced. Let us know if you launch a phone without 5G and we’ll sit up and take notice.