5G smartphones are finally coming to China
Handsets running on the next generation of high speed mobile internet are already available in Europe, the US and South Korea
Clarified dual-SIM capability on the Axon 10 Pro 5G
For all the talk about China racing ahead with rolling out 5G networks, ordinary users still can’t take advantage of the superfast technology. The problem? There are currently no commercial 5G smartphones available for purchase in the country.
That will finally change soon.
Why 5G isn't just faster video streaming on your smartphone
ZTE’s 5G phone could be the first to hit the shelves, but it probably won’t be the only one for long.
Check out Mate 20X 5G on Amazon
ZTE’s 5G phone carries Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 chipset, which ensures a seamless transition to 4G when 5G signals aren’t in range. The 5G connection is enabled by an additional modem, which consumes quite a lot of power. That explains why ZTE’s phone comes with a large 4,000 mAh battery, which the company says can last about 11 hours with heavy usage.
But what’s weird is that while Chinese consumers are still waiting to get their hands on 5G handsets, Chinese brands are already selling them overseas.
It looks like China is trying to catch up fast, though. In June, it granted its first 5G commercial licenses to the country’s big three telecom operators -- China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom -- as well as the China Broadcasting Network.
According to the report, the first wave of 5G trials alone in China will cover an area populated by 167 million people -- more than the entire population of the UK, South Korea and Australia combined.
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