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Qualcomm Says Every Android Manufacturer Will Have 5G Flagship Phone by End of 2019

Tuesday December 4, 2018 7:00 pm PST by Eric Slivka
Apple is reportedly waiting until at least 2020 to roll out next-generation 5G cellular data technology in its iPhone lineup, but according to Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon, "every" Android handset manufacturer will have a flagship phone with 5G support across U.S. carriers by the end of next year, reports CNET.

By the holidays next year, every flagship handset -- at least when it comes to those running Google's Android software and using Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor -- will tap into 5G, said Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon.

"When we get to exactly this time of year one year from now … we will see every [handset maker] on the Android ecosystem, their flagship across all US carriers will be a 5G device," he told CNET in an interview Tuesday at Qualcomm's Snapdragon Technology Summit in Hawaii. "Every Android vendor is working on 5G right now."
Apple is of course embroiled in a patent dispute with Qualcomm that has seen the iPhone maker shift its modem orders over to Intel. Apple is said to be targeting Intel's upcoming 8160/8161 5G modem for the iPhone, but that part won't enter mass production the second half of 2019, which means it won't start appearing in devices until the first half of 2020.

Regardless of its dispute with Qualcomm, Apple has historically not been on the cutting edge of adopting the latest cellular standards, preferring to wait until they've matured and chips have been better optimized before including the technologies in its devices, so it shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise that Apple will likely lag behind other manufacturers in pushing out 5G support.

Tags: Qualcomm, 5G
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magicschoolbus
9 months ago
All in favor of letting android users be guinea pigs, “smash that like button”.
Rating: 60 Votes
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bensisko
9 months ago
While I'm looking forward to 5G, it's not the "must have" upgrade that 3G to 4G LTE was. I'm not exactly hurting for faster speed on my mobile.
Rating: 33 Votes
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JPack
9 months ago

Better for Apple to wait til 2020. We don't want a repeat of the 4G rollout.


The problem is, Intel's 5G modem in 2020 will likely perform similar to Qualcomm's 2019 modem.
Rating: 24 Votes
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Tiger8
9 months ago

Having 5G on smartphone is fancy-schmancy, but what good is it really?

We had a ton of responses like that about 4G back in 2010 and 2011: "3G is good enough for a phone, no need for anything faster"
Rating: 10 Votes
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JPack
9 months ago
Intel is a half step behind Qualcomm, this time it shows.
Rating: 10 Votes
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techpr
9 months ago

5g is useless with data caps


4G is already useless with data caps.
Rating: 9 Votes
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martyjmclean
9 months ago
Better for Apple to wait til 2020. We don't want a repeat of the 4G rollout.
Rating: 8 Votes
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MultiMan
9 months ago

5G is not available where I live, and probably won’t be in 2019 either.

Also, I don’t really see the point of it. 4G can be reeally fast! Like 100mbit/s fast. Would I really notice any difference if it was faster? Probably not. Maybe if I was streaming 4K, but how many users have data caps for that? Most users have 5-10GB/month..

The main point about 5G isn't faster speeds for individuals but better use of frequencies and less congestion, thus larger overall capacity for more people to use.

Funny to watch Apple users becoming grandpa, suspicious of new tech. "Better wait, 'cause Apple knows best!".
Rating: 7 Votes
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H2SO4
9 months ago

5g is useless with data caps

Where do people get stuff like this from?
Your 3MB email will still be a 3MB email even when 10G rolls around.
Rating: 7 Votes
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iTom501
9 months ago
No one needs it, no one cares. Are you serious?! Or is 5g something that you don't need until apple announces it? I've never heard anyone say they don't need faster data and that BS about guinea pigs - really, do you not mind being a guinea pig when testing beta versions of iOS. Also only because YOU don't need it because you have Wi-Fi all over the place, doesn't mean that the rest of the population does too.
Rating: 7 Votes

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