Huawei's Mate X is a seriously impressive folding 5G smartphone... but you'd hope so for $2,600!
If you balked when the price of the Samsung Galaxy Fold was revealed ($1,980, in case you missed it), the price tag attached to the newly revealed Huawei Mate X may trigger heart failure. At $2,600, the 5G folding smartphone is, the words of Huawei's Richard Yu, "very expensive", but you will get a lot of phone for your money.
The Mate X is scheduled for release in the middle of the year, and it differs from the Samsung Galaxy Fold in an important way. While Samsung's offering opens up to reveal a large screen on the inside, Huawei has instead opted to wrap the foldable screen around the front and back using the unique Falcon Wing Mechanical Hinge. In folded mode, this is a 6.6-inch smartphone; opened up, it is an 8-inch tablet. The price may be extraordinarily high, but you get some impressive hardware.
Unlike the US, the UK does not want to ban Huawei from 5G networks
With concerns about Chinese spying, the US has been embarked on a campaign to prevent Huawei from operating in the country. In addition to banning officials from spending money on Huawei equipment, the US government has been trying to convince other countries to follow its lead and shun the company.
Despite US pressure -- and similar moves by New Zealand and Australia -- the UK says that it has no plans to cut Huawei technology out of 5G networks. The National Cyber Security Centre says that there are ways to mitigate against any potential risk posed by Huawei equipment.
Huawei sacks employee arrested in Poland on spying charges
Chinese smartphone-maker Huawei has sacked an employee after he was arrested in Poland, charged with spying. Weijing Wang, the company's sales director in Poland, was dismissed by Huawei as it tries to limit the damage to its reputation -- the company is already viewed as a potential security risk by numerous countries including the US.
Huawei insists that the charges leveled against Wang are unrelated to the company, but said that the allegations brought it into disrepute. Poland's internal affairs minister, Joachim Brudziński, has called on NATO and the EU to work together to decide whether Huawei should be excluded from operating in some markets.
Apple knows 5G is about infrastructure, NOT mobile phones
With Apple shares down more than 20 percent from their all-time highs of only a few weeks ago, writers are piling-on about what’s wrong in Cupertino. But sometimes writers looking for a story don’t fully understand what they are talking about. And that seems to me to be the case with complaints that Apple is too far behind in adopting 5G networking technology in future iPhones. For all the legitimate stories about how Apple should have done this or that, 5G doesn’t belong on the list. And that’s because 5G isn’t really about mobile phones at all.
Just to get this out of the way, I see Apple shares currently presenting a huge buying opportunity. A good Christmas quarter will regain that lost 20 percent, and I don’t see any reason why Apple shouldn’t have a good Christmas quarter.
Intel XMM 8160 5G modem coming in 2019
Next year, you are gong to hear a lot about 5G. No, seriously, you will be bombarded by both news and marketing surrounding the upcoming wireless internet standard. Quite frankly, I expect to be physically nauseated by all the 5G talk. With that said, 5G is worthy of all the hype. It will make current LTE internet seem downright slow. Make no mistake, 5G is not just a mobile data thing, either -- many homes will get internet with 5G, removing the stranglehold current cable-dependent ISPs have on the market.
Of course, before we can enjoy 5G, we need hardware, such as towers and modems. Rumors suggest Apple will use Intel modems for the iPhone in 2020, and today, we get some strong evidence of this. You see, Intel is promising to release its upcoming XMM 8160 5G modem earlier than expected -- in the second half of 2019. Consumer devices that contain the modem won't be available until 2020, however.
Apple iPhone 5G is coming! In 2020...
Ultra-fast 5G wireless is going to change the world... eventually. It won't just disrupt the mobile ISP business, but home internet as well. Throughout 2019, I fully expect consumers to be bombarded with 5G marketing that will sell it as the next big thing. And yes, the new standard will be pretty great, but it is not yet necessary. You see, the 5G infrastructure is not yet ubiquitous, and it won't be for a long while. So while there will probably be Android phones with high-speed 5G modems in 2019, owners largely won't have any way to take advantage of it.
According to a new report from Fast Company, Apple will be sitting out the 2019 5G shenanigans, instead waiting for at least 2020 to launch the iPhone 5G. You know what? That is very wise. The fruit-logo company is seemingly opting to wait until 5G is worthwhile and not merely a marketing tool.
Your first 5G phone could come from OnePlus
At the moment, there are many people eagerly awaiting the arrival of the OnePlus 6T later this month. But looking further ahead, OnePlus has plans for a 5G handset.
The smartphone manufacturer has already hinted at the release of a 5G handset in 2019, but now this has been confirmed. Joining the president of Qualcomm on stage at the company's 4G/5G summit at Hong Kong, OnePlus' Carl Pei said that a 5G phone is definitely coming next year.
Motorola Moto Z3 Android smartphone is a Verizon exclusive with optional 5G upgrade
5G is the future, but it is certainly not the present. For now, 4G LTE will have to be good enough as we await the major cell carriers to roll out 5G networking across the United States. Once this blazing-fast next generation wireless standard becomes ubiquitous, it won't just revolutionize mobile internet, but it can potentially disrupt home internet too. Yes, the future may spell trouble for traditional cable-based ISPs.
Motorola and Verizon seem anxious to sell 5G phones to consumers, as the upcoming Moto Z3 -- which is exclusive to the carrier -- shows us. No, the Android smartphone does not contain a 5G radio -- it is still a 4G phone. However, Motorola promises a future "Moto Mod" that will snap onto the rear and enable Verizon 5G wireless connectivity. Since this radio dongle will likely drain the device’s battery, it contains its own 2000 mAh battery. The phone has the typical internals that you'd expect -- a Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB of RAM.
Samsung unveils world's first 10nm-class 8gb LPDDR5 DRAM
Samsung didn't become one of the most popular and important technology companies on the planet by accident. The recipe for its success is quite simple -- create quality products for both consumers and OEMs. Not only are its consumer electronics wildly popular, but many manufacturers turn to it for its components too. Samsung's memory and display offerings are top notch and found in countless products, such as the Apple iPhone.
The company never rests on its laurels, however, instead continually pushing the envelope. Samsung's breakthroughs are beneficial to the technology industry as a whole. Today, the company announces yet another milestone, this time with its low-powered memory. You see, Samsung has created what it calls the "industry's first 10-nanometer (nm) class 8-gigabit (Gb) LPDDR5 DRAM." The company promises significant power reduction -- up to 30 percent over LPDDR4X DRAM! This should be important for the upcoming 5G explosion.
OnePlus is looking to come to the US as it promises two years of software updates and a 5G phone
At Mobile World Congress Shanghai, OnePlus CEO and founder Pete Lau said that his company is determined to make a proper entry into the North American market and is working with US carriers to make it happen.
OnePlus has also said that it is looking to produce a 5G phone in 2019, and it will take advantage of its relationship with Qualcomm to make this happen. For current and future OnePlus owners, the company also made commitments about software and security updates.
Mobile: The driving force behind digital transformation
From retail to manufacturing, the digital transformation is taking the world by storm, and mobile is leading the charge. With mobile affecting everything from corporate processes to the customer experience, it’s important for businesses to understand just how mobile and the digital revolution are bringing big changes.
As productivity increases, so does the need to communicate more quickly. Currently, it takes 50 milliseconds to send a piece of data from one mobile device to another. Impressively, with 5G, that time will be cut to just one millisecond -- now, that’s fast. While operators are projected to spend $1.7 trillion on equipment upgrades between now and 2020 in preparation for the arrival of 5G, the results will be well worth it. By 2025, 5G is expected to reach 2.6 billion subscribers -- or one-in-five mobile connections around the world.
T-Mobile and Sprint are merging to create a customer-focused 5G juggernaut
In the USA, there are four major cell service providers -- Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. Of that group, two are considered by some to be low-quality -- Sprint and T-Mobile. While that is absolutely true of the former, the latter is actually very good, offering affordability, solid coverage, and fast speeds. I swear by it these days.
It has often been rumored that T-Mobile and Sprint were discussing mergers, potentially forming a company that won't just compete with Verizon and AT&T, but potentially leapfrog them -- especially with the impending roll-out of 5G. Today, the rumors become reality, as T-Mobile and Sprint are officially merging in an all-stock transaction -- pooling resources to establish a stronger overall company. The name Sprint will be dropped entirely -- a smart move as it is the weaker brand.
The first PCs with Intel's new 5G modem will arrive in 2019
There is a lot of talk surrounding the potential of 5G networks. The big players in the industry have already announced their plans to support the new technology, and some have also revealed their first products to support it.
Intel is part of that crowd, announcing today that its XMM 8060 modem will enable 5G connectivity in a slew of PCs from the likes of Dell, HP, Lenovo and Microsoft. It does not take long to realize that, among other devices, the Surface line will offer 5G support. When?
5G is coming: Here's how carriers can prepare
Technology’s rapid advance continues, requiring companies to adjust quickly to keep pace. And with the arrival of 5G, businesses can anticipate even more rapid change beginning this year. In fact, it’s predicted that by 2025, 5G will make up 99 percent of all broadband carriers and have over 2.6 billion subscribers -- or one-in-five mobile connections worldwide.
If these numbers sound overwhelming, you’re not alone. Carriers around the globe need to prepare themselves for 5G to transform the way they service customers. But thankfully, with these three easy tips, any carrier can get ahead of the game and be ready for 5G to take the industry by storm.
White House refutes claims it wants to build its own 5G network
Documents that came to light recently suggested that the Trump administration was considering creating a government-controlled 5G network. It was an idea viewed in a dim light by the FCC, but now the White House has denied it has such plans.
Despite the unearthing of a memo to the contrary, the US government insists there are no such plans under consideration.
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