Next year is supposed to be a big year for 5G smartphones. Qualcomm and MediaTek both have 5G chipsets planned for mid-range phones which means phone buyers should be able to pick up a 5G phone for under $400.
Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun, has revealed that all the phones it will release next year priced above ¥2000 (~$285) will have 5G support. He also added that they plan to announce at least 10 5G smartphones next year. The information was revealed this morning at the on-going China Mobile Global Partners Conference.
While $285 does sound great for a 5G phone, we believe most of these phones will sell for at least ¥2399 (~$342). Also, 10 phones sound like a lot, but with a large product portfolio such as Xiaomi’s (including Redmi), that is just shy of half of its annual lineup.
Lei Jun also added that these affordable phones will launch in the first half of the year.
Xiaomi intends to aggressively market 5G next year as it believes it brings a number of benefits. It already launched a 5G+AIoT strategy so as to increase the development and adoption of the use of its AIoT sevices.
Mr. Lei Jun also implored China mobile to speed up the roll-out of its eSIM One Phone Number Dual Terminal service across China. This service allows you to use one phone number on two devices such as your phone and your wearable that supports eSIM. The service is currently only available in 7 cities in China – Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Chengdu.
The new Xiaomi Watch has an eSIM but because the eSIM One Phone Number Dual Terminal service is available in only a few cities, it may affect the sales of the watch and the development of smartwatches in general.
UP NEXT: Smartphones powered by MediaTek 5G SoC will launch in Q1 2020
(Source)
