Xiaomi, Sony and 16 more OEMs to deliver 5G smartphones in 2019

Qualcomm has hit the gas pedal on the 5G connectivity with its latest announcements. The company will provide Snapdragon X50 modems that support the new standard to 18 OEMs, including smartphone manufacturers Asus, Fujitsu, HMD Global, HTC, LG, Oppo, Sharp, Sony, vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE.

The manufacturers are planning to commercialize 5G mobile devices by 2019. While Samsung struck a separate extended partnership last week, the one big company that is missing from the list is Apple.

In a separate press release, the San Diego company also said that carriers such as AT&T, China Mobile, Orange, SK Telecom, Verizon, and Vodafone would conduct trials for the 5G NR standard to optimize their networks.

To demonstrate its progress on the matter, Qualcomm will have a planned demonstration at MWC 2018 where the Snapdragon X50 5G modem will achieve download speeds of “several gigabits per second”.

Live trials of the 5G NR standard with leading operators should begin late 2018 so manufacturers could announce their ultra-fast smartphones and headsets next year. According to Qualcomm, 5G could bring enhanced mobile broadband to Always Connected PCs, VR and AR headsets.

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