Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel users in India are pretty excited about the arrival of 5G. Since it has already been announced for several cities, users across the country are anticipating a 5G rollout in their city and town soon as well. Jio says that it will cover the entire nation with 5G by December 2023, while Airtel says it will do so by March 2024. Because of this excitement and the hype that has been created around 5G, some customers with 4G phones might be feeling left out. This might drive such consumers to upgrade to a 5G phone even when they have a well-working 4G phone.
Relax, a 4G Phone is Sufficient if it is Working Well
If you are one of those users who is worried about not having a 5G phone, then you can relax by knowing that while 5G has launched in India, it is still away from being a common network like 4G for years. The 5G rollout is happening in a phased manner right now in India. The telcos would require years to completely cover a city with 5G networks, and thus, even if you have a 5G phone, it wouldn't really matter a lot for a significant amount of time.
So don't rush into purchasing a 5G phone right now. It doesn't make sense. Even in the cities where 5G has already launched, only a few sites are active. Jio is not even offering its 5G services to all, but only to a select few. Further, there are no real life-changing consumer applications of 5G present right now.
Most of the use cases of 5G are only helpful for enterprises. 4G networks are more than sufficient for customers at the moment. Don't fall for the hype that the marketing of 5G networks has created on the internet and the local network. So, if you have well working 4G phone, stick with it. Upgrade to a 5G phone in a natural cycle, as in when your current 4G phone needs changing because it is damaged or too old. You can still get a new 4G device if you want. It isn't necessary for you to get a 5G phone only if you are buying a new one. While most of the newly launched devices are 5G-enabled handsets, there are a few companies that are still launching affordable 4G phones for customers.
In fact, there's a good chance that the 5G smartphone which you purchase doesn't even support the 5G networks of Airtel and Jio. The device manufacturers are currently in the process of rolling out OTA (over-the-air) updates for their devices to support 5G networks in India.
