In my experience it's the annual release cycle of Android coupled with the lack of OS updates by manufacturers which contributes to e-waste, closely followed by the lack of battery replaceability. My first smartphone (OnePlus One - 2014) still has the specs to be a perfectly usable phone, at least until 5G is widespread and 4G networks are decommissioned.
4G is plenty fast and works well for me. I see nothing gained for my phone by going from 100Mbps to 1Gbps(?). Nothing. But its pushed like the second coming of Christ.
As a European, I predict it'll be a catalyst for American companies to rethink data caps and data pricing, as you can blow through a data cap 10x as fast. That'll be massive and measurable progress.
Paraphrasing Liebig's law of the minimum[0]: progress is hindered by the most scarce resource. I'm sure that bandwidth will have been that resource for some ideas. These ideas will have been 'before their time' a few years ago, and are now viable.
Take spellcheckers[1], and electron-based apps: they've moved very quickly from "impossible" to "an everyday occurrence", I hope 5G enable this for another class of problem, and I hope it's unpredictable.
I don't have a 5G phone, I don't plan to get one any time soon, I'll have one in 10 years time, and I'm excited to see what comes of it.
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebig%27s_law_of_the_minimum
Generally there is said to be 3 parts to 5G. The first is eMBB: Enhanced Mobile Broadband. In other words faster mobile internet. This is where most operators start.
The second is URLLC: Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications. This is mainly aimed at using 5G for things like self-driving cars. But also things like long distance remote control. This is where people see potential for innovation without being clear what the exact innovation will be.
The third is mMTC: Massive Machine Type Communications. This is meant for IOT but also for factory control. The IOT thing is mostly allowing extra low battery useage, low speed, cheap connnectivity. The factory control thing is about getting the advantages of 5G (and e.g. URLLC) and allowing a factory to quickly set up their own private 5G network.
This is on the consumer facing side. On the operator facing side, infrastructure is moving more towards virtualization and decoupling. Trying to make it easier to use multiple vendors, and stop requiring custom made hardware. And in general, moving towards commodity hardware and something closer to 'infrastructure as code'.
This also helps roaming and virtual operators (for e.g. the factory control). It also helps a bit with the ultra low latency part by decentralizing the routing part and moving it closer to the devices.
So "what is 5G gonna do for me" is mostly the 'faster internet'. But the idea is that it will enable widespread innovation that you can later use. With some luck (governments are thinking) being ahead in deploying 5G might also help boost your economy by boosting innovation.
I needed a new test phone the other day so I bought a new iPhone 11 at a Verizon store. The salespeople could not wrap their head around my choice because it doesn't support 5g. I gave them some great reasons and they relunctantly took my money.
On paper there are benefits, at this time there is no killer need for it.