Xiaomi goes into 5G with Mi Mix 3 5G at MWC 2019

The flood of 5G phones continues.

Xiaomi became Sunday the last company to have launched a 5G phone, the Mi Mix 3 5G. The device – a variant of the recent version Mi Mix 3 – will cost 599 euros ($ 679) and will be launched in May.

Xiaomi's first 5G wireless partners include European companies Orange, Sunrise, Telefonic, Three, TIM and Vodafone. There has been no talk of project to bring the phone to the United States.

"Essentially, everything you liked about the Mi Mix 3 now comes with 5G," said Donovan Sung, director of product management for Xiaomi's global team, on Sunday. press conference at the MWC.

Xiaomi, at the introduction of the Mi Mix 3 in October, announced that it would be available in 5G version. At the time, he presented it as the first phone of this type available commercially.

The Mi Mix 3 5G contains Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 processor and its 5G X50 modem. It has the ceramic body of Mi Mix 3 and will be available in two colors, onyx black and sapphire blue. It uses the same camera configuration and other features of the Mi Mix 3, including the magnetic slider of the device.

CNET reporter Aloysius Low said Xiaomi's 4G last week Mix Mix 3 is "almost the perfect phone" but noted that he would not come to the United States.

The 5G promises to significantly increase the speed, coverage and responsiveness of wireless networks. It can run 10 to 100 times faster than your current conventional cellular connection, and even faster than anything you can get with a fiber optic cable entering your home. It will also allow the device to connect to the network faster, at speeds as fast as a millisecond to begin your download.

Experts expect the 5G to change the way we live and even create new industries, much like 4G LTE has allowed the development of applications such as Uber, Instagram and AirBNB. Most operators are just starting their 5G networks and manufacturers are still preparing their first 5G devices.

"The 5G will become a reality this year and will drive future innovations in various sectors, such as smartphones and IOT," said Wang Xiang, head of Xiaomi's international activities, at the conference. release of the company at the MWC in Barcelona.

The rise of 5G

Several of Xiaomi's rivals made similar announcements last week. Samsung, the world's largest smartphone provider, unveiled his first 5G phone last week at his Unpacked event in San Francisco, and Oppo on Saturday talked about his first 5G phone, not yet named. Other major Android providers, including Huawei and LG, are expected to announce their 5G phones later this week at the MWC.

During this year's holidays, every flagship phone, at least one that uses Google's Android software and uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor, will use 5G, said Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon in December.

Xiaomi, founded eight years ago, has become one of the most popular Chinese phone brands at the beginning of its existence, its fans seeking to buy its latest phones. It even invites fans to its product launches, including the Sunday event at the MWC in Barcelona. But Xiaomi recently fought against rival Huawei, who sold nearly twice as many phones as Xiaomi last year.

Last year, Xiaomi's sales rose 37 percent to 122.4 million units, according to Gartner. This made it the fourth handset manufacturer after Samsung, Apple and Huawei. Huawei handset sales increased 35 percent to 202.9 million.

While Xiaomi, Huawei and others have gained ground in markets like China, competition is more difficult in the United States. This market is still dominated by Apple and Samsung.

Price 5G

Xiaomi is the first major handset manufacturer to detail the prices of its 5G phone. At 599 euros, the device could be one of the cheapest 5G phones in the market this year. It's even cheaper than many classic 4G handsets in the US market. the iPhone XS, for example, starts at $ 999, while Samsung's new 4G Galaxy S10 is $ 900.

The cheapest Mi Mix 3, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage, sells for around $ 490, £ 375 or AU $ 680 converted from its 3,299 yuan. The version with 10 GB of RAM and 256 GB of embedded storage costs 4,999 Chinese yuan, or about 845 dollars.

Most initial 5G phones on the market are supposed to be expensive. Most companies, including Samsung, have not yet specified the cost of their devices, but it is thought that they could be significantly superior to 4G LTE variants. OnePlus, for example, told CNET in December that its first 5G phone can be $ 200 to $ 300 higher that lighthouse this year OnePlus 6T. This represents a huge increase from 36% to 55% over the older device.

Originally published at 14:40 Paris time.
Updated at 14:37 PT: Add more details on the new phone