Major smartphone manufacturers are all working on 5G smartphones as carriers in key markets enable their commercial networks in the coming months. OnePlus has also said that it’s working on such a phone which could be out in the first half of 2019. The company’s CEO has now said that OnePlus expects to have the first 5G smartphone in Europe next year.
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau said in an interview that the company expects to launch a 5G smartphone in 2019. It’s already working with carriers in Europe for support. We’re confident we’ll be the first 5G phone in Europe,” Lau told The Verge.
When asked why OnePlus is jumping into 5G so quickly, Lau said that this is something that its customers have been asking for quite a lot. He also said that OnePlus is interested in developing a 5G device early so that it can learn more about the technology and bring even better experiences to its customers.
“It will be its own line of phones,” he added about the upcoming 5G device, so it will be offered alongside the company’s existing 4G LTE devices. “It doubles the workload for us because it’s an additional product,” Lau conceded. There’s no way around it for the company since 5G networks will only be available in a handful of markets by next year so it can’t exactly ditch the 4G phones just yet.
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