5G is the next big thing in mobile technology, but right now it's coming at a high price from mobile carriers, limited and tied to expensive smartphone 5G phones.
The good news is that the Nokia kettle phone brand HMD Global is planning to change one aspect of that equation with a more affordable 5G smartphone, digital reports trend.
“We see another opportunity for us in bringing 5G to a more affordable segment as we enter the market,” according to HMD Global Product Director Juho Sarvikas. He then mentioned the push to offer phones for about half the price of what 5G devices currently cost.
Specifically, Sarvikas said, “I would like to see us at half price where you have 5g today.” That the phone will have a launch date in 2020.
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Today on the market 5g
The 5G-ready Nokia phones that are half the price of current 5G phones can still be quite expensive. Right now it's almost exclusively premium devices that get the 5G treatment, and even then, it could be the premium version of the premium version.
For example, the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Note 10 families both have a 5G variant, but the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is kind of like an upgraded S10 Plus at its $1,299/£1099/AU$1,850 price point. The Note 10 didn't get a 5G variant, but the Note 10 Plus did, and that kicks the starting price up to $1,299/£1,099.
LG has a more affordable 5G phone in the LG V50 with ThinQ, but it still hits a hefty $999 (about $820, AU$1,445) price. And please, pro 7 5g is hard to compare as it was only for one carrier.
If HMD Global can release a 5G phone at half the price of those competitors, it will make the new wireless standard more accessible to many people.
Come 2020, the Nokia 5G phone may not be the only option available. Rumor has it that Samsung has a very affordable 5G phone in the works, and other manufacturers like Oppo and Xiaomi are in the race as well.
Motorola also has a claim to affordable 5G with the 5G Moto Mod paired with the Moto and the Z3 or Z4 Moto, but the bulky mod is far from being an elegant solution.
More information on Nokia's 5G phone is likely in the coming months and we may see a debut at MWC next year.
- Let's see what Sprint and OnePlus have in store