T-Mobile has announced that the Galaxy S21 is compatible with Voice Over 5G (VoNR).

T-Mobile has announced and launched the ability to make and receive phone calls using 5G technology. VoNR (Voice Over New Radio) is presently available in limited T-Mobile service regions in Portland, Oregon and Salt Lake City, Utah, with hopes to extend to other places across the United States this year. VoNR is already available to T-Mobile customers who own a Samsung Galaxy S21. A future version will include support for the S22 series.

To make phone calls, current 5G handsets must rely on 4G LTE, preventing a solo 5G experience. Customers using VoNR should anticipate "significantly quicker call set-up times" and won't have to switch between 4G and 5G when answering and finishing calls, according to T-Mobile.

Standalone 5G eliminates the requirement for a 4G LTE network and core, allowing 5G to realise its full potential. To put it another way, it's 'pure 5g.' Standalone 5G eliminates the requirement for a 4G LTE network and core, allowing 5G to realise its full potential. To put it another way, it's 'pure 5g.'

In the same way that 3G networks have been phased down in the United States in recent months, VoNR marks the beginning of the end for 4G LTE. As 5G devices become more prevalent in smartphone markets throughout the world, 4G LTE will gradually fade away, becoming largely useful for processing phone calls (VoLTE) until being phased out entirely — hopefully not for another few years.