The dust has now settled on a frantic week in Barcelona for MWC 19, and it’s time to reflect on some of the devices that were unveiled at the annual event, with 5G smartphones in particular being our focus here.
While almost every major Android phone maker debuted a new device capable of supporting the 5G standard, few have actual launch dates, and South Africa’s government is yet to make spectrum available locally, which means many of these 5G smartphones still remain a mystery.
That’s where we’re hoping the table below will assist, listing important elements for the new batch of 5G smartphones, including the modem it utilises, the processor onboard and in some cases the download speeds it is able to achieve (according to the manufacturer).
Without further ado, take a gander at the table below at what the 5G smartphones from MWC 19 are featuring internally.
MWC 19 5G Phone | Huawei Mate X | Samsung Galaxy S10 5G | LG V50 ThinQ 5G | ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G | Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G |
Display | 8″ (Unfolded), 2 480 X 2 200 | 6.7″, 3 040 X 1 440 | 6.4″, 3 120 X 1 440 | 6.47″, 2 340 X 1 080 | 6.39″, 2 340 X 1 080 |
Processor | Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 980 | Octa-core Exynos 9820 | Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 | Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 | Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 |
Modem | HiSilicon Balong 5000 | Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 | Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 | Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 | Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 |
Download Speed | 4.6 Gbps | Sub-6Gbps | Not listed | Not listed | Up to 2Gbps |
RAM | 8GB RAM | 8GB RAM | 6GB RAM | 6GB RAM | 6GB RAM |
Storage | 512GB | 256GB | 128GB | 128GB | 64GB |
Main Camera | Triple lens (40MP wide, 16MP ultra-wide, 8MP telephoto) | Triple lens (12MP wide, 12MP telephoto, 16MP ultra-wide) | Triple lens (12MP standard, 12MP telephoto, 16MP ultra-wide) | Triple lens (48MP standard, 20MP ultra-wide, 8MP telephoto | Dual lens (12MP wide, 12MP telephoto) |
Looking at the specifications listed above, one interesting element is where the silicon is coming from, with Huawei for example turning in-house, but the majority of other manufacturers leveraging Qualcomm components.
Whether that continues to be the case in coming years remains to be seen, with the appetite for 5G capable modems opening up potential opportunities for the likes of Huawei and Motorola, which has their own offering in the form of the 5G Moto Mod, with them expected to have a fully fledged device soon as well.
Either way this initial wave of 5G smartphones is only the beginning, and there should be more announced in coming months. Whether any come to South Africa in 2019 is unclear, but the way things are shaping up, and given their strong 5G infrastructure, Huawei is leading the pack.
That said, we doubt many people will be able to get their hands on their foldable Mate X phone, and will likely have to look to the P30 series, which is yet to be confirmed for 5G.