The next big wave in wireless connectivity is undoubtedly going to be 5G phones with incredible download speeds and fast connectivity. For years phone manufacturers, wireless carriers, chipset makers and infrastructure developers have been working tirelessly to develop a new 5G ecosystem globally. At the beginning of 2018, many experts believed it is little too early to have expectations around 5G, but if truth be told then in 2019 we are going to see a bunch of smartphones with 5G support and not to mention the heavy chipsets that will power these phones, because 5G connectivity needs a heavy RAM, much more powerful that what we have today.
According to reports in media worldwide, smartphone brands are working hard to release 5G smartphones in 2019, this includes the likes of Samsung, Sony, Huawei and Apple. In some instances, company CEO’s have themselves revealed through social media that when they are poised to bring in the new 5G flagship device into the market. 5G is not only about speed but also about how smartphones will radicalize the whole experience of using a phone. Apart from unprecedented speed 5G phones will bring in the experience of augmented reality, virtual assistant, holographic displays, high-end resolutions, and massive camera functions into phones.
We will look through five smartphones that are expected to release with 5G technology in 2019.
Samsung Galaxy S10
Samsung has already developed an intense RAM chipset meant for 5G technology and is in talk with Qualcomm to bestow its 5G modem into Samsung phone. Weibo tech analyst Ice Universe has been able to crack into some of the 5G’s coveted specs that Samsung is supposedly working on to put into its Galaxy S10 for 2019.
The specs include some cutthroat designs:
- 5G baseband chip
- A chipset to handle artificial intelligence, which means a heavy neural networking processing unit.
- UFS 3.0 storage (It will be a while before we can completely make sense of the new storage system)
- LPDDR5 RAM
- Increased screen-to-body ratio
- 9th generation Super AMOLED display
- 3D AI processing in camera app
- L-shaped battery
It definitely sounds futuristic now but will soon become a reality next year when Samsung unveils Galaxy S10 in Spring 2019. Other than super connectivity speeds this phone will ensure download and streaming of 4K movies, live game streaming via services like PS Now. Other than S10, Samsung is also expected to release a brand-new flagship with the name of Beyond 1 and Beyond 2, which will definitely be hallmarks of what a nifty 5G smartphone will look and function like. Samsung is also in the process of refining its Bixby service and developing a 5G networking service which becomes indispensable for a 5G phone to operate.
OnePlus 7
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed over his twitter page that next year the company will unveil its first 5G smartphone, reportedly OnePlus 7. The news of OnePlus 7 also tells us that the phone will have a next generation Qualcomm processor, which is likely to be Snapdragon 855. We don’t know yet if the new flagship will be bestowed with cutting-edge specs like Samsung’s but a 5G phone imperatively demands a higher spec and we believe OnePlus has tricks up its sleeves to amaze us next year.
Sony Xperia XZ3
After Huawei and OnePlus professed its 5G goal for 2019, Sony Mobile took to its blog to drop the 5G buzz for this company. Sony had claimed to be the ‘world’s first’ in bringing many smartphone technologies that we see around today, and this includes quite a list. The blog lists some of Sony’s milestone achievements in smartphone innovations including, ‘the highest level of smartphone water resistant’ that came with Xperia Z, first smartphone with an integrated 4K display with Xperia Z5 premium, first smartphone with a gigabit download speed and the list goes on. And now as the 5G war on smartphones waging high, Sony cannot possibly lag. In the beginning of 2018 Sony declared that it will bring ‘the world’s first 5G smartphone ahead of anyone else’. It was talked about a battery for its 5G phone that will ‘last a week long’, which is indeed a lofty feat to achieve. There is rumor around Sony calling its 5G dream phone as Xperia XZ3 which in addition to the above-mentioned specs will also come with a high-performing camera. If Sony is real betting on the ‘first 5G smartphone’ competition then it must release its smartphone before February 2019, as that is when Samsung plans to unveil its own 5G smartphone magic.
Huawei P30
Huawei confirmed its 5G smartphone in 2019 but it is still a question about which model of Huawei will be getting 5G support. In an interview with T3, Huawei’s senior executive talked about how Huawei is developing the chipset and collaborating with other vendors to bring in 5G support in ‘either P30 and if not then surely the Mate series’. The P30 is slated to release in March 2019, and if all goes well for Huawei then this model will comes bestowed with 5G specs. The Mate series will be released between September and October in 2019. This also drives to the point of how the whole gamut of technology changes around 5G technology, including bigger chipsets, more powerful RAM, larger antennas and enhance battery. Battery is perhaps one of the most crucial issues right now, as 5G will require a lot of battery power it will be interesting to see how battery technology evolves to keep up with 5G demands. In any case, if Huawei’s statements have real consequences in 2019, then we will see either P30, P30 Pro or Mate series with 5G technology.
iPhone X (2019)
If rumors are to be believed, then iPhone is in talks with Mediatek to build 5G modem for its flagship iPhone X in 2019. MediaTek released its 5G modem chipset Helio M70 in Computex 2018 in Taipei. This modem is capable of transferring data at the rate of 5Gbps on a 5G network. According to media reports, Apple is eyeing this superfast modem to build the fastest next-generation iPhone X in 2019. Apple always releases its flagship products during the end of every year, and if this hold true for the next-gen iPhone too, then Apple will have ample time in hand to bring forth this superfast smartphone by end of 2019.
