The decade of 5G phones draws nigh 
2019-12-23
Sabrina Jin has decided to switch to a 5G data package next year even though she doesn’t have a 5G phone yet. The reason is simple: price.
Jin currently uses an iPhone with a 4G package that costs her 166 yuan (US$24) a month for 2 gigabytes of data traffic. The China Unicom 5G package she is buying will cost her only 159 yuan for 40 gigabytes of monthly data, under a two-year contract. 
In recent months, smartphone vendors from Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE have all launched 5G models or unveiled 5G strategies. They are hoping to attract consumers like Jin with 5G contracts that will kick in when 4G models are replaced with next-generation 5G devices.
“China will be the main battlefield of the 5G smartphone market next year,” said Xu Feng, president of ZTE’s Mobile Devices, predicting that more than 160 million 5G phones will be sold domestically in 2020.
In June, China granted commercial-use 5G licenses to the country's top three telecom operators — China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom, as well as to the China Broadcasting Network.
Beginning in November, the carriers started commercial operations of 5G in about 40 major cities, including Shanghai.
The more affordable 5G packages are a by-product of China’s rapid development of the new technology, which is expected to attract 100-200 million new users in 2020 and create 8 million jobs by 2030, analysts and industry officials said.
The 5G services, with lower latency and much faster network access than 4G, will usher in endless opportunities for industry players such as mobile carriers, chip designers and smartphone vendors.
China will lead the world  in the scale of 5G, predicted Cristiano Amon, president of Qualcomm, which designs chips for many smartphone producers. 
In November, more than 5 million 5G models were sold in China, accounting for 15 percent of total sales, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a state-owned researcher.
The ratio will hit 50 percent next year, predicted ZTE’s Xu, who said his company will launch more than 10 5G model phones in 2020 to help it return to a “leading position” in the domestic smartphone market.
Research firm International Data Corp estimates that more than 100 million 5G devices, including smartphones, tablet computers, laptops and virtual reality devices, will be sold globally in 2020, rising to 400 million in 2023.
Vivo, one of the top three smartphone vendors in China, linked up with South Korea’s Samsung to develop a chip featuring faster 5G network connection and artificial intelligence. 
The new 5G technology has been used in its latest 5G model X30, released last week. 
Currently, Vivo has three 5G models. It has established special 5G research teams with “several hundred” engineers in Beijing and the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. 
Another Chinese smartphone vendor Oppo is launching its 5G flagship Reno 3 on Thursday. The company has announced that it will invest 50 billion yuan in the next three years on 5G, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, big data and other core hardware and software engineering sectors.
“In the 5G era, Oppo is no longer only a smartphone company,” said Chen Yongming, founder and chief executive of Oppo.
Against global market leaders like Apple and Samsung, Chinese smartphone makers are gaining market share, relying on cost advantages and technology in the 5G era, industry officials said.
Xiaomi launched its RedMi K30 5G model recently at a starting price of 1,999 yuan, making it the most affordable 5G model currently on the market. 
ZTE’s 5G models will sell for an average 2,000-3,000 yuan next year, making them competitive with rival models, the company’s Xu said.
The starting price for Vivo’s X30 is 3,298 yuan, about half the cost of Samsung and Huawei 5G flagship models.
So far, Apple hasn’t unveiled any 5G models or revealed any 5G availability plans. 
To take advantage of her 5G data packages, Jin is thinking of buying a second 5G smartphone besides her Apple iPhone 11 Max Pro, which cost her more than 10,000 yuan, or a portable device that is capable of transferring a 5G signal to Wi-Fi. 
The benefits of 5G go beyond faster Internet access, though that is a chief selling point. 5G will eventually change our digital lives, from video broadcasting, cloud games and beyond, said IDC. The possibilities are tantalizing.
ZTE recently used its 5G Axon 10 Pro’s strong video-streaming function to broadcast a concert in Shanghai. ZTE, which also offers 5G telecommunications gear for mobile carriers like China Mobile and Chine Telecom, has a strong background in network connection and video data transfer.
Vivo is touting its X30’s telescope photography function, which allows users to “shoot the moon” with 5G smartphones. 
Oppo’s Reno 3 has strong video recording and production capacities, including stabilization and image optimization, the company said.
The functions of many Chinese products, like cameras and localized features, will massively surpass new Apple iPhones, with lower prices and 5G functions, said Li Keren, a technology editor based in Shanghai. 
Li, who tests six to 10 new phones a day, reports that the Vivo NEX 3 is his favorite 5G smartphone at present.
“Besides cameras, Chinese firms have advantages for domestic consumers in design and services, like fast charging, spam-message blocking and built-in electronic transportation cards,” Li told Shanghai Daily. 
Prices for 5G phones range from 1,999 yuan to more than 6,000 yuan, he added.
China’s mobile ecosystem will expand outside China and establish a very strong position in markets globally, Qualcomm predicts. 
ZTE has already expanded into 10 major overseas markets, including Japan, Australia, Russia and Japan, the company’s Xu noted.
On Friday, Oppo announced it will open an Asia-Pacific center in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, establishing 15 carriers to push its “5G Landing Project” in the region.
