As you might expect, subsequent generations are faster and contain improved or new features.
All of them refer to the technology used by the mobile carrier and equipment itself.
They have different speeds and features that improve on the previous generation.
Lifewire / Chloe Giroux
The next generation is 5G, which launched in 2020.
1G: Voice Only
Remember analog phones back in the day?
Cell phones began with 1G technology in the 1980s.
1G is the first generation of wireless cellular technology.
1G supports voice only calls.
The maximum speed of 1G technology is 2.4Kbps.
This leap took place in Finland in 1991 onGSMnetworks and effectively took cell phones from analog to digital communications.
Although 2G replaced 1G and is superseded by later technology versions, it’s still used around the world.
The maximum speed of 2G with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is 50 Kbps.
The max theoretical speed is 384 Kbps with Enhanced Data Rates forGSM Evolution (EDGE).
EDGE+ can get up to 1.3 Mbps.
2.5G introduced a new packet-switching technique that was more efficient than 2G technology.
This led to 2.75G, which provided a theoretical threefold speed increase.
They served mostly as marketing tools to promote new cell phone features to the public.
The term “mobile broadband” was first applied to 3G cellular technology.
The maximum speed of 3G was around 2 Mbps for non-moving devices and 384 Kbps in moving vehicles.
The max speed of a 4G web connection when the unit is moving is 100 Mbps.
The speed is 1 Gbps for low-mobility communication such as when the caller is stationary or walking.
Most current cell phone models support both 4G and 3G technologies.
The anticipated theoreticalspeedof 5G connections is up to 20 Gbps per second.
For instance, AT&T and T-Mobile will phase out their 2G networks by 2022.
As a result, someolder devices will no longer be able to connect.
The iPhone, retroactively named the iPhone 2G, was the firstiPhone modeloffered by Apple.
It was released on June 29, 2007
