OnePlus today took the wraps off its first 5G-ready phone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 event in Barcelona. The showcased phone at the event is the upcoming OnePlus 5G prototype. Notably, the handset is powered by the top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC. Furthermore, it is paired with the Snapdragon X50 5G modem for 5G network connectivity.
There isn’t much we can decipher from the 5G-ready handset as it is densely covered by a case that surrounds the sides as well as large portion of its display, obscuring the design. The Chinese manufacturer also didn’t reveal substantial detail about the smartphone’s specifications. It’s yet to give any information about its availability in global markets and carrier collaborations except for Finland and the UK.
OnePlus announced a few days ago that the company’s 5G smartphone would hit Finland’s market in the second quarter of 2019. The company joined hands with top Finnish telecom service provider, Elisa and earlier confirmed with EE to release a 5G-smartphone in the UK. To make things clear, this is not the OnePlus 7 flagship smartphone. Following the same, the OnePlus 7 is said not to come with 5G support.
OnePlus first confirmed about its 5G smartphone back in December last year. The handset was revealed to be launched by the end of May. It was also said to cost $200-$300 more than its predecessor. Later on, the company confirmed that it has partnered with Qualcomm to showcase its 5G ready smartphone at the MWC event, which it did.
“5G is a game changer. It can change everything from gaming to communication, to health and beyond. More than that, it can perform several, or all, of these at the same time. One great example of how 5G will change the world is gaming. 5G’s dramatic improvement in speed, latency, and network capacity can truly fulfil the promise of cloud gaming. Combined with powerful OnePlus devices, people can play advanced games anywhere they are, provided they are on a 5G connection,” said Pete Lau, CEO, OnePlus.
2019 is said to be the year of foldable smartphones and 5G devices, of which we have seen both now. We already have seen 5G devices like Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, Huawei Mate X and LG V50 ThinQ. Lately, Xiaomi too has also launched a 5G variant of the Mi Mix 3. That being said, Sony, OPPO and other OEMs will likely launch their 5G-ready phones later this year.
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