Samsung has another 5G smartphone scheduled for a launch in 2019 — way ahead of the rest of the smartphone pack. While most OEMs are still in experimentation stage with their first 5G smartphone, Samsung has two 5G smartphones lined up for 2019 already.
For the second launch, this time they have partnered with AT&T and made the announcement at Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit being held at Maui, Hawaii. Just last week, Samsung and Verizon partnered to announce their first 5G smartphone. AT&T and Verizon set up mini 5G networks to power some demos. Samsung even showed off their prototype for their first ever 5G phone. None of the attendees present were allowed to touch the device and the back of the device was covered with a case. But they claim the prototype had 4K videos streaming on 5G without any hiccups and that it even featured a notch in the top right corner.
While the Verizon 5G phone is slated to release during the first half of 2019, the AT&T 5G phone would be coming out during the latter half of 2019. And AT&T promises a much more superior network. The Verizon phone would be connecting to only 5G mmWave, while the AT&T one would connect to both 5Gmm Wave and sub-6 GHz. The 5G mmWave is an inferior technology where the calls get blocked easily and the signals don’t reach far. The sub-6 GHz improves on these flaws. Another major difference is that while 5G mmWave offers high speeds of up to 1 Gbps and very low latency but cannot penetrate buildings, while the sub-6 GHz offers wider coverage at slightly lower speeds.
AT&T promises to provide 5G services in 12 markets around the globe by the end of this year and expand into many more throughout the next year. While many companies would be debuting a 5G enabled smartphones next year, many believe the technology could take over 2 years to become a viable option to the masses.
