Best 5G smartphones available this year

The development of 5G technology requires a lot of work from the phone maker, the carrier and the region where it would work. Getting these three bodies to be ready for 5G is quite challenging. Although 5G technology has been launched and it is currently in use in some regions, we can safely say that it is still at its infant stages. This year, a couple of phone makers have already released 5G smartphones and more are scheduled to release before the year ends. In this post, we will be looking at the 5G smartphones which will be available for purchase this year.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S10 5G VERSION

South Korean manufacturer, Samsung, surprisingly beat everyone to the release of the first 5G smartphone. In February, Samsung announced the Galaxy S10 5G version and about a month ago, the company released this smartphone in the US. This smartphone is currently exclusive to Verizon and it comes with a $1299 price tag. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 256/512GB of internal storage. The Samsung Galaxy Fold 5G version is supposed to be another 5G device from the company but the standard version of the Galaxy Fold comes with a series of display issues which forced the company to postpone its official sales. Thus there is no telling when the 5G version of this phone will be available.

HUAWEI MATE X

On April 23, Huawei announced its 5G equipment roadmap at the Global Analyst Conference. The foldable Huawei Mate X which support 5G network caught more attention and it will be released in July this year.

Huawei Mate X adopts the eversion + grip shaft design. In the folded state, it has a 6.6-inch front display with a resolution of 2480 x 1148 (19.5:9). The rear has a 6.38-inch long and narrow screen with a resolution of 2480 × 892 (25:9). The overall thickness of this smartphone is 11 mm. However, when the 8-inch flat panel (2480×2200 resolution) is unfolded, the thickness is 5.4 mm.

The Huawei Mate X is equipped with the Kirin 980 processor coupled with Huawei’s internally developed Barong 5000 5G chip. At present, the Mate X comes with a €2,299 price tag. Huawei’s CEO, Yu Chengdong, said that the product will be listed in mid-2019 and is expected to have a monthly capacity of 100,000 units.

XIAOMI MI MIX 3 5G VERSION

At the MWC 2019 conference in February this year, Chinese manufacturer, Xiaomi, announced the existence of a 5G version of the Xiaomi Mi MIX 3. Recently, (May 2nd to be specific), this smartphone was launched in Europe (Switzerland) through Swiss operator Sunrise. Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 adopts a magnetic power slide-like design such that the front camera and other sensors are hidden under the display. With this design, the Mi MIX 3 has a 93.4% display ratio.

This smartphone uses a 6.39-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen; it is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 mobile platform coupled with 6GB/8GB/10GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of internal storage. In addition, at the release press conference, Xiaomi’s CEO also emphasized that the Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 has adopted the strongest post-AI dual-camera. It has a front-facing 24MP sensor which supports 960-frame slow-motion photography, and its DxOMark score is 108 points. The highest variant of the regular version costs 3999 yuan ($594). The 5G version of Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 is expected to be available for purchase in June. As far as we know, the Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G version will cost €599 (~ US$671)

LG V50 THINQ

Just this week, LG also announced that its first 5G mobile phone, LG V50 ThinQ, will be released on May 10. This flagship smartphone does not only have 5G, it also uses a “dual display” design. The LG V50 ThinQ is equipped with a 6.4-inch p-OLED FullVision display with a resolution of 3120×1440 and a screen aspect ratio of 19.5:9.

The LG V50 ThinQ is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Processor coupled with a built-in Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem. This chip is supported with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. This smartphone uses a dual front camera and a triple rear camera configuration. Up front, it has an 8MP+5MP dual cameras while on the rear, it boasts of a 16MP ultra wide-angle lens (F / 1.9 aperture, 1.0μm) + 12MP standard lens ( F/1.5 aperture, 1.4μm) + 12 MP telephoto lens (F/2.4 aperture, 1.0μm). The battery capacity is 4000mAh. In terms of price, considering that the initial price of LG V40 ThinQ is $899, the starting price of LG V50 ThinQ is likely to exceed $900.

ONEPLUS 7 PRO 5G VERSION

On May 16th, OnePlus will hold a new product launch conference at the Yanqi Lake International Convention and Exhibition Center in Beijing. At this conference, OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro will be released. At the same time, the company will also unveil the 5G version of the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Both the standard and 5G version of the OnePlus 7 Pro are expected to come with the same features with the exception of a 5G chip on the 5G version.  From what we know, the OnePlus 7 Pro is equipped with Snapdragon 855 processor coupled with up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB internal storage. This phone uses a 6.67-inch bangs-free full screen with a front pop-up camera. It supports Corning Gorilla 6th generation glass and the system is also pre-installed with Android 9 Pie. It is equipped with a triple rear camera setup which includes a 48MP+16MP+8MP configuration.

ZTE AXON 10 PRO 5G VERSION

ZTE Corporation has officially announced that the Axon 10 Pro will be officially released in Fuzhou, China on May 6th. It has already demonstrated the 5G version at the China Unicom Global Industry Chain Partner Conference. Therefore, this ZTE 5G flagship machine is very likely to officially hit the market this year

It is reported that ZTE Axon 10 Pro uses a 6.47-inch AMOLED hyperboloid water-drop screen with a resolution of 1080P . The smartphone chin is very narrow, and the screen ratio is 92%. It is powered with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 flagship processor coupled with up to 12GB of RAM. The lights of this smartphone are kept on by a built-in 4000mAh battery which supports QC4.0 fast charge and wireless reverse charging function.

OPPO RENO 5G EDITION

The OPPO Reno 5G version was successfully launched in Switzerland yesterday, and this mobile phone has become the first commercial 5G mobile phone in Europe. Previously, OPPO announced that it will jointly build a “5G Experience Center” with China Unicom and deliver the OPPO Reno 5G version to China Unicom. OPPO Reno’s Mars program will also be implemented this month, so the 5G version of OPPO Reno seems to be not far away.

OPPO Reno uses a 6.4-inch panoramic screen and achieves a 3.49mm ultra-narrow chin. The machine is equipped with a Corning sixth-generation Gorilla Glass and a new generation of AMOLED screen luminescent materials  and equipped with Snapdragon 855 processor . The Oppo Reno 5G version and Oppo Reno 10x zoom version will come with similar specs with the exception of 5G compatibility. The Oppo Reno 5G version will not cost less than 5000 Yuan ($742).

This list contains the 5G smartphones whose arrival to the market will probably happen in a few months or less. There are other smartphones from the likes of vivo, Nubia and other manufacturers which do not have an exact launch date