Flex rigid PCB factory know that, last year, 5G phones made up more than a fifth of global shipments. This year, 5G's percentage of phone shipments will jump to 45%, the firm said. And 5G will just keep rising. 

While consumers are buying plenty of 5G phones, for many, it's not actually about 5G at all. For some, it's just time to upgrade, and most devices happen to come with 5G. At the same time, consumers who are turning on 5G may find there's not much available that shows the connectivity's speed and responsiveness.

"If you buy a new phone right now in the US, your choice for the most part will be a 5G phone," Strategy Analytics analyst Ken Hyers said. He added that Strategy Analytics data show "a lot more phones with 5G being sold" than 5G subscriptions being paid to carriers. "5G might be a nice bonus, it's not really that big a driver," when it comes to phone sales right now, Hyers said.

Flex rigid PCB factory know that, 5G is front and center at this year's MWC. While the trade show is proceeding in person in Barcelona this week, most major companies have opted to participate virtually instead of sending employees to Spain. That includes Samsung, Google, Qualcomm and Ericsson. So far, MWC has lacked the buzz and major news typical of the world's largest mobile conference. But everyone presenting agrees that 5G is a major opportunity for the industry. GSMA, which hosts MWC, said Monday that 5G will represent more than a fifth of all mobile connections by the end of 2025, adding up to about 1.8 billion connections around the globe.