Brace yourselves, 5G is set to become as annoying marketing jargon in 2019 as waterdrop notches, AI, and foldable displays are already. But that doesn’t mean the tech is DOA.
5G has intrinsic value for consumers, arriving with faster speeds and better call quality among other benefits.
No ad to show here.
But which companies are focusing on the next generation mobile tech? Here are a handful that have announced their intentions to launch a device with 5G capabilities in 2019.
OnePlus
You’re not getting the headphone jack back, OP fans, but OnePlus is planning to launch a phone with 5G support in 2019.
According to a report by Engadget, OnePlus CEO Carl Pei confirmed that the company will debut a 5G phone in the new year.
As for additional details? There are none. But it’s likely that the phone will be a flagship, perhaps in similar vein to the OnePlus 7, scheduled for debut in 2019 too.
Samsung
If you’re sick of hearing about the Samsung Galaxy S10, we can’t blame you. But it’ll likely be one of the first devices to support 5G.
Verizon and Samsung both announced that the world can expect a 5G toting Sammy in the new year. The duo failed to state what the name of the phone will be though.
Nevertheless, the likely flagship device will sport Qualcomm’s “Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem and antenna modules with integrated RF transceiver, RF front-end and antenna elements.”
Expect the device to arrive in the first half of 2019.
Xiaomi
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 is already available in China sporting a 4G LTE radio, but a 5G variant is reportedly heading to Europe in the first half of 2019.
In terms of raw specs, the phone can be ordered with 10GB of RAM too, which should be more than enough until 6G arrives sometime in 2119.
LG
Not to be outdone by its South Korean rival, LG announced its 5G smartphone development plans back in August alongside US carrier Sprint.
“Sprint customers will be among the first in the world to experience the incredible speed, reliability and mobility of 5G on this innovative handset built for the country’s first mobile 5G network when it launches in first half of next year. Device specifications and exact timing will be announced later,” read the release published by Sprint.
Will it be a G or V series device? Or a new category entirely? We’ll have to wait for LG to spill the beans, perhaps as early as MWC 2019 in March.
Huawei
Lumping a 5G radio into a foldable phone is one way to turn heads, and that’s why Huawei’s stocking up on neck braces.
According to reports from ETNews picked up by Android Authority, the Chinese company has a complete, ready-to-launch device up its sleeve sporting 5G support and a foldable screen. Too much of a good thing?
Although detailed specs remain scant at present, foldable phones are likely to become the new notch — design fad — of the smartphone world in 2019.
Feature image: LG
