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OnePlus CEO says 5G phones could cost $200-$300 more than normal

Next year will see a wave of new 5G-supporting smartphones hit the market, as a number of manufacturers have already noted their intention to release devices in 2019.

One of those manufacturers is OnePlus, with the Chinese company’s CEO, Pete Lau, weighing in on the implications that the new mobile broadband standard will have on consumers.

More specifically he’s told The Verge his thoughts at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit currently underway in Maui.

Like Huawei, Samsung and a handful of others, OnePlus too has confirmed that will have a 5G phone in 2019, with the newly unveiled Snapdragon 855 processor helping to power the 5G functionality.

While the prospect of 5G phones opens up opportunities for more enriched mobile experiences, Lau believes that will come at a price, with the OnePlus CEO stating that said devices could cost between $200 to $300 more than their 4G predecessors.

“It’s hard to know because there’s a lot of specifics still to look at, but it’s likely in the neighborhood of $200-300 more,” Lau tells The Verge.

Lau’s comments need to be taking with a generous pinch of salt though, with no manufacturer outlining potential pricing for their devices at this stage.

We’d have to concede, however, that 5G phones should indeed be more expensive than the previous generation of devices, especially as you look at how prices for the mobile market in general have ballooned in recent years.

As such, it could be interesting to see how aggressive some manufacturers, specifically Chinese ones, are when it comes to their new 5G phones.

To that end Lau has also told Engadget that he’s trying his utmost to ensure the upcoming 5G phone from OnePlus is under the $1 000 mark.

He also added that OnePlus will be the first manufacturer to feature the new Snapdragon 855 processor, which by our calculations could mean the Chinese manufacturer may have a flagship device ready for MWC 2019 in February, with Sony and Samsung also expected to feature the new chipset.

As always when talking about 5G phones, South Africa still needs to ensure spectrum is available for the mobile broadband, otherwise all these high-powered devices serve no real purpose. Hopefully that gets sorted sooner rather than later.

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