5G Bands! : Which one should your smartphone have?

There are many brands out there selling smartphones with the 5G naming/sticker. That’s of course because the smartphone would have a built-in 5G modem. But wait, just a modem doesn’t make it 5G capable. You’ve got to have bands supporting the frequency that’s provided in the country. 

Image Courtesy: Unsplash

So, to explain in simple terms, it’s like having a basket’s diameter a little more than the ball’s, in basketball. If the ball’s got to enter the basket, it’s(the basket) surely got to have a greater diameter. It’s the same here. Specific bands are required for specific frequencies. Here’s what you’ve got to be aware of:

5G, in India will most probably start rolling out with 3.3GHz frequency, ‘initially’. And the only band that supports this frequency is the n78. If the smartphone you’re looking to buy has got the n78 band, you can go for it, at your own risk. And I say that because the frequency spectrum isn’t quite confirmed yet. What you’ve not got to do is buy a 5G capable smartphone without the n78 band, here in India. Now that you know what bands are required, the next step is check out if your smartphone’s got that. Don’t Google, “Does xyz have n78 band”, instead visit the official website of the smartphone you’re buying. 

Image Courtesy: OnePlus  Here’s a screenshot from OnePlus’ website, showing the specifications of the 8T. You can find this in every brand’s website. Just head to the ‘Specs’ tab and scroll down to connectivity. Then, check out the bands for 5G NSA/SA 

And if you’re the lazy one and not interested in checking out the website, here’s a spreadsheet mentioning bands equipped in popular ‘5G’ branded smartphones. Hope it helps out 😉

(All Amazon India links in the spreadsheet are affiliate.)

NOTE: Network providers, some time after 5G is rolled out, might bring in other frequency spectra as well. So, having more bands (especially mmWave) would make your smartphone more future-proof! 

That was it! 

Thanks for reading till the end! 🙂

And, if the spreadsheet was any helpful, appreciation in the comments is welcomed! 

#5G #Smartphones