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Sprint and HTC will release a 5G hotspot in 2019
Sprint isn't pinning all its 5G hopes on a single LG smartphone. The carrier has announced plans to release an HTC-made 5G "mobile smart hub" sometime in the first half of 2019. The two are saying precious little about the hotspot device, but it'll use Qualcomm's Snapdragon X50 modem to provide gigabit-class data speeds (including 'legacy' LTE) to multiple gadgets. In other words, Sprint is following the classic network rollout strategy: it's using a portable router as an interim solution until there are more phones, tablets and PCs with the technology built-in.
OnePlus will release one of the first 5G smartphones
Shortly after Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon told us to expect at least two 5G flagship smartphones next year, you kind of know what to expect when OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei joined him on stage. Nope, they weren't here to talk about the new launch date for the OnePlus 6T, but Pei has just confirmed that his company will indeed be releasing a 5G device next year, and that according to his knowledge, OnePlus will be one of the first, if not the first, to do so. The exec also mentioned that his team had already conducted a 5G test at Qualcomm's headquarters in San Diego back in August.
Qualcomm is expecting two waves of 5G flagship smartphones in 2019
If you've been wondering when to expect the first 5G smartphone on the market, there's now a somewhat official answer from none other than Qualcomm. Speaking at the 4G/5G Summit in Hong Kong, Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon said that based on what his company has visibility to, they are expecting "at least two waves of major flagships" with 5G radio next year, with the first lot arriving some time within the first half of the year, and the rest in the holiday season.
Qualcomm will power 5G devices from LG, Sony and more in 2019
Since the first 5G standard was approved two months ago, the industry has been racing to deliver next-generation mobile data to the world. Qualcomm made two announcements today that show us real-world 5G is almost here. First, it revealed a slew of consumer electronics companies that have committed to making 5G-ready mobile devices starting in 2019, using Qualcomm's X50 5G modem. This list includes LG, Sony Mobile, HTC, ASUS, Xiaomi, ZTE, Netgear and more. Don't forget, Samsung also announced a partnership with Qualcomm last month to work on 5G technology through the next few years.
Qualcomm-powered 5G devices may arrive in first half of 2018
As we saw back at MWC, 5G trials are already well under way around the world, and such efforts are recently boosted with support from the FCC plus the EU. Verizon has stated that it's aiming to implement 5G at some point in 2017, but today, a mobile chip giant has given us a more specific time frame. At the Qualcomm 4G/5G Summit in Hong Kong, the company announced its very first 5G modem, the Snapdragon X50, which will support download speeds at up to 5 Gbps -- a super impressive number considering that we've only just started tapping into the Gigabit space with 4G LTE, let alone the more common 450 Mbps, 300 Mbps or even just 150 Mbps download speeds on our phones these days.
