China's big push in 5G spectrum has attracted global attention. This has created demand for 5G phones and Huawei benefitted immensely as its Mate 30 5G and Mate 30 Pro 5G sold like hot cupcakes. Now, another China-origin tech giant is looking cash in on the demand for 5G phones in the country with a more disruptive approach.
Xiaomi Developers Conference in Beijing on Tuesday witnessed several interesting announcements on the lines of 5G smartphones. Firstly, the company's CEO Lei Jun confirmed the early arrival of Redmi K30, which was earlier expected to break cover in January next year. According to Jun, the Redmi K30 will be available as early as next month.
While the launch date of Redmi K30 is yet to revealed, Jun revealed an interesting feature of the phone that should be hugely relevant to the Chinese audience. The Redmi K30 will come with dual-mode 5G support, which practically means 5G support on both SIM card slots of the phone.
There are a lot of unsolved mysteries surrounding Redmi K20's successor. Some rumours suggested the handset could feature a pill-shaped punch-hole display to accommodate two front-facing cameras. While we wait for more details on the phone to arrive, Jun gave something more worth talking about.
At the Developers Conference, Jun revealed the roadmap for 5G phones and it involved a whole lot of phones throughout next year. Moreover, Jun said all Xiaomi phones priced above CNY 2,000 (roughly Rs 20,000) will have 5G support in 2020. And the company is planning to launch at least 10 5G phones next year.
2020 is going to be an exciting year for Xiaomi and the entire mobile industry as the competition takes a refreshing turn. More and more brands will compete to bring affordable 5G phones to the market after seeing Xiaomi's aggressive approach.
Currently, 5G support is limited to the premium segment. The masses haven't been upgraded from 4G, but that could change soon. Since China is 5G-ready, other markets such as India are still on their way to deploy the fastest mobile network solution. India is also Xiaomi's second-biggest market and bringing affordable 5G phones here would mean a great deal of success.
