China-based device makers such as Xiaomi, OnePlus, OPPO, Vivo and ZTE are gearing up to launch 5G smartphones in 2019 featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 mobile platform using the Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem.
China-based Lenovo/Motorola and Huawei do not feature in the 5G smartphone makers list revealed by the US-based Qualcomm Technologies at the annual Qualcomm Snapdragon Technology Summit.
Qualcomm said the Snapdragon 855 mobile platform is the world’s first commercial mobile platform supporting multi-gigabit 5G, AI and immersive extended reality (XR) to meet the demand of 5G consumers in 2019 and beyond.
Samsung, which is taking a lead in the 5G smartphone business, has already won phone deals from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. Samsung’s 5G smartphone is expected to hit the market in 2019.
Qualcomm Technologies and Chinese OEMs will jointly showcase 5G mobile demo devices, including smartphones and a customer premise equipment (CPE) at the China Mobile Global Partner Conference in Guangzhou.
Qualcomm will be supplying Snapdragon 855 mobile platform, Snapdragon X50 5G modem and Qualcomm QTM052 mmWave antenna modules with RF transceiver, RF front-end and antenna elements to 5G smartphone companies.
“We will enable customers in China and across the globe to help China’s smartphone industry seize the global opportunities coming with 5G in 2019,” said Cristiano Amon, president, Qualcomm.
Bin Lin, co-founder and president, Xiaomi, said: “Xiaomi has completed the 5G signal and data connection as well as the 5G mmWave throughput test utilizing the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform, which prepares us for 5G smartphone launch next year.”
Pete Lau, chief executive officer, OnePlus, said: “OnePlus is expected to be one of the first customers of Qualcomm Technologies to commercially launch premium 5G smartphones in 2019.”
Tony Chen, chief executive officer, OPPO, said: “We are confident that we will be one of the first manufacturers to roll out 5G ready mobile devices.
Jesse Shi, senior vice president, Vivo, said: “Vivo plans to launch its first 5G pre-commercial smartphone in 2019, and to achieve the large scale commercial rollouts of 5G smartphones by 2020.”
Luo Wei, vice president of product at, ZTE Mobile Devices, said: “ZTE has completed the 5G Internet and WeChat connection on ZTE 5G smartphone via the simulation system based on the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform. We will be introducing 5G smartphones in the first half of 2019.”
Baburajan K
