Question about Fairphone 3

I know this can all be very confusing.

It is important to distinguish between WLAN (Wi-Fi, 802.11) on the one hand and mobile data (3G, 4G, 5G, GSM, LTE, UMTS) on the other.

In terms of WLAN standards, we are currently at Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and there are practically no new devices to buy that do not support it. Wi-Fi 6 is currently being introduced, but I wouldn't buy any devices at the moment (summer 2020), they are still too expensive and the selection is too small. There could also still be technical changes. The difference between Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 is also hardly noticeable for the individual user. In large hotspots with very many users (e.g. train stations, internet cafés), there could be slight improvements in performance in some cases.

In terms of mobile data, 4G is well developed in Switzerland today and all newly purchased smartphones support it. 5G is currently being introduced. Compared to all older standards, 5G brings a huge increase in performance. Not all mobile phone providers are already building it. It needs more antennas at shorter distances. This is one of the reasons why political resistance to 5G has formed worldwide, including in Switzerland. of the smartphone models available for purchase today, only about 1% support the 5G standard.

Regarding the Android version: Which WLAN or mobile radio standard is supported depends primarily on the hardware. The software, or the operating system, must then of course support the functions. With Android smartphones, however, it is usually the case that the smartphone manufacturers develop and install their own Android versions for their own smartphone hardware. This ensures that hardware and operating system are 100% compatible. In contrast to Windows laptops, however, you are dependent on the manufacturer, for better or worse, because you cannot install a new version yourself later, as is usual with Windows.