First 5G smartphone by the ZTE will reportedly launch in early next year. The information is coming directly from the CEO of ZTE’s mobile device business, Lixin Cheng who confirmed in an interview about the company bringing a 5G smartphone in the US market in 2019.
Lixin Cheng, the chief executive officer of ZTE’s mobile business, said in an interview that “ZTE’s plan could change based on the availability of 5G networks and the supply of compatible chipsets, but added that a 5G tablet or home internet hub were possibilities, too.”
The upcoming first 5G smartphone will be unveiled in the US at the end of 2018 or early 2019, Cheng revealed in the same interview. He added that it would be a smartphone, but also that a 5G tablet or wireless-internet hub for homes were possibilities, too. However, the plans for the smartphone may also get changed based on the availability of fifth-generation networks and the supply of the necessary chipsets.
AT&T has recently announced that they will launch fifth-generation mobile service in a dozen of cities in the US by late 2018. However, the company didn’t reveal the locations or how large the 5G area would be in each market. Similarly, Verizon Communications is also claiming to launch a similar service in three to five markets in 2018.
There has been a lot of buzz regarding the 5G network over the past few years. 3GPP came out with the first set of standards for 5G last year, and now they are in a state where telecom equipment makers and wireless modem producers can begin to design products based on them. Certainly, Qualcomm and Intel have also announced 5G modems which they plan on unveiling sometime this year or in 2019.