First, I'd like to state that I'm aware of the issues associated with 5G cell towers and the health risks associated with them. Cities and communities across the world have vocally opposed and even banned their construction, and I think they are right to do so.
However, I am curious as to whether the 5G problem is associated with "5G" cell phones.
I have a based friend who may end up needing a new phone for work. Problem is, every phone on the market is "5G", and he wants to take care of himself as best as he can, hence why he's been hesitant to take the plunge on a newer phone.
Fortunately, we live in a county that recently denied multiple permit requests for 5G towers, so we're not as worried about 5G towers.
But do 5G smartphones have the same health risks as the 5G towers?
I'd appreciate feedback from people in the know.
There are none. Microwaves have no special effects on the human anatomy either pulsed nor unpulsed. Exposure to microwaves will dump the energy into the outermost layer of your skin as heat, which is only an issue if the intensity is far, far higher than any communications antenna, in which case the radiant heat will become obvious and intolerable before it becomes damaging.
If there are problems with 5G, it's Chinese backdoors in the hardware or the denser network allowing more precise triangulation, not that less energetic radiation at lower intensities than the visible light and infrared you're exposed to every day is somehow more capable of hurting you.
Non-ionizing radiation will cause heat, but where is the heat? Water absorbs a lot of 2.4 GHz microwaves, while plastic is transparent.
Supposedly there are some of these frequencies that heat molecules near your DNA and this heat alters the local H2O <-> H3O+ OH- equilibrium, causing increased DNA damage from normal.
I don't remember enough chemistry to speak to the validity of that, but it looks from an absorption chart water is fairly transparent to like 900 MHz and below. So ironically probably the typically higher 5G frequencies may even be safer.
Nukes sliced ham in the microwave...
Again, presents as heat...
A microwave oven emits 600 to 1200 Watts of power. Cell towers emit far less - 10 to 50 Watts - and cellphones emit less again. You can't present raw energy transfer as evidence that microwaves are dangerous and not care about the amount of raw energy being transferred, for the same reason that a 1 kW laser isn't evidence that flashlights are dangerous.