The race towards 5G has been ongoing for a while now, but things became official at the Mobile World Congress back in February/March 2019. This is after Samsung took to stage to unveil the first 5G smartphone – the Galaxy S10 5G.
Despite this official launch, the Galaxy S10 5G didn’t show up on shelves until later in May when Verizon Wireless became the first carrier to offer the phone to consumers for mainstream use, not just in the U.S., but the world as a whole.
The device was later followed by OnePlus 7 Pro 5G in the UK (EE) and LG V50 ThinQ on Sprint (USA) at the tail end of the same month. Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G and Huawei Mate 20 X 5G are also the other 5G-ready devices whose names have popped up in the past and as expected, more are coming soon.
By soon, we are looking at this coming month of September. According to the latest reports, a multitude of 5G-ready smartphones will be launched next month, probably at the IFA 2019 event in Germany. Initially, the list included Xiaomi Mi 9S 5G, as seen below.
But China Unicom, the official Weibo account behind these latest developments, edited out the Mi 9S from the post. As of this writing, the post only talks about a certain Xiaomi 5G smartphone with no specifics. Given the projected September release timeline, it’s unlikely to be the Xiaomi Mi MIX 4.
As evidenced by the screenshot above, it’s not just Xiaomi that has plans to unveil a new 5G smartphone. Apparently, Vivo has at least two 5G phones getting ready for a September release. The Vivo iQOO Pro 5G will lead the way beginning August 22 ahead of its September availability.
Although we don’t have exact dates, its been confirmed that beginning this September, at least those using China Unicom will be able to purchase and actually use the Vivo NEX 5G and probably several variants in the Vivo X series. Unfortunately, most of these phones may never make it to the west.
Also on the list of upcoming 5G phones is the Galaxy Note 10 5G. Samsung unveiled the Note 10 series at an event in New York City on August 7 and already confirmed the Note 10 5G. However, it hasn’t said anything official regarding the Galaxy A90 5G, but it’s on the list as well.
Besides Huawei Mate 20 X 5G, Huawei is also lining up another 5G handset in the form of Huawei Mate 30 5G. This was expected since its predecessor also got a 5G variant, but we can’t say much about the alleged September launch of the device.
Speaking of the Mate 20 X 5G, China Unicom says it will have the device in stock beginning August 16, six days after another 5G phone, the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G, goes on sale through the same carrier.
At the beginning of the year, there weren’t so many options for early adopters of 5G. But evidently, the 5G narrative has begun gathering pace as more OEMs and devices get on board. By the end of 2020, we might begin to see several midrangers coming on board the 5G ship, hopefully.
NOTE: If interested in more coverage related to Xiaomi and Vivo, click here and here.
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Hillary Keverenge
2097 Posts
Tech has been my playground for over a decade. While the Android journey began early, it truly took flight with the revolutionary Lollipop update. Since then, it's been a parade of Android devices (with a sprinkle of iOS), culminating in a mostly happy marriage with Google's smart home ecosystem. Expect insightful articles and explorations of the ever-evolving world of Android and Google products coupled with occasional rants on the Nest smart home ecosystem.
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