PC World - USA (2020-11)

(Antfer) #1
8 PCWorld NOVEMBER 2020

NEWS SHOULD YOU PURCHASE A 5G LAPTOP?


managed to get download speeds between
381Mbps and 476.7Mbps, with upload
speeds in the 50Mbps range. That pretty
much blows away the throughput on my
home Wi-Fi network.
Of course, you’ll only get those
astounding 5G download speeds if
you’re in a Verizon 5G coverage
area, and as of now, they’re hard to
come by. While AT&T and T-Mobile
offer much broader 5G coverage,
their slower but longer-range
sub-6GHz 5G networks aren’t nearly
as fast as Verizon’s speedier but
(much) shorter-range mmWave 5G
network.
You should also consider the

limited number
of 5G-capable
laptops
currently on the
market. For
now, the
Snapdragon 8cx
5G-powered
Lenovo Flex 5G
is your only
choice, but a
few more 5G
laptops will
soon arrive from
the likes of Dell,
HP, and
Samsung, and
CES will surely bring a parade of options. And
if you can wait a year or so, you should also be
able to enjoy that fast 5G connectivity in
broader coverage areas.

Here’s Verizon’s 5G coverage map for Downtown Brooklyn, with the red lines
designating 5G coverage areas. That’s right, the little red lines.

Your 5G experience is all about location.
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