MWC 2019: Sony will make a 5G phone, only after the tech rolls out
HIGHLIGHTS
Sony to make 5G phone only after 5G is fully offered by mobile networks
Sony may launch Xperia 2 which is compatible with 5G
Sony handset to be thicker and heavier to support 5G
Think for a while that Sony isn't interested in 5G just because the Sony Xperia 1 doesn't support it? Think again.
At MWC 2019, Sony is flaunting a new prototype 5G device and the firm has confirmed that it won't be chasing 5G in the consumer space until 5G is fully offered by mobile networks.
Instead of packing it inside a commercially available phone, think LG V50, Huawei Mate X or Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, the firm is flaunting a prototype that's never planned to come to market.
Patience at Sony
At the show, the device is displayed on both Sony and Qualcomm's booths. The prototype is sporting Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855, which is the same chipset as the Xperia 1 have.
The Snapdragon 855 is competent of supporting 5G - that's the same chipset the LG V50 has got - so why won't Sony's latest flagship support 5G?
President of Sony Mobile, Mitsuya Kishida told, "Obviously, we are heavily cooperating with our partners to develop for 5G, and depending on the country and the customers need we will introduce the 5G model accordingly. It will be a separate model and depend on the country, again. How to introduce the solution is going to be different for our customers."
However, he confirmed that Sony was planning to have a handset in the market when the 5G wave of phones fully starts.
Is that mean we'll see a variant of the Xperia 1 just like Xiaomi has plans to rerelease the Mi Mix 3 with a new 5G version or we will get a completely new phone to see.
It's also an advantage of Sony's schedule of releasing a new flagship phone every six months. By the time 5G starts to rollout later this year, Sony may be ready to launch the Xperia 2 that is assumed to sport the Snapdragon 855 but may be ready with 5G compatibility too.
Kishida continued, "Being the first in 5G... that’s not what we’re trying to achieve. I’m really happy that our engineering skill and the speed of development towards 5G, I’m very comfortable with that."
For Sony avoiding 5G, one of the other reasons at this stage is also that it can have on the design of the phone too.
Head of external communications, Silke Schild, at Sony Mobile told, "We don’t want to compromise on the design [of the Xperia 1] either, integrating additional antennas etcetera."
That means the next phone from Sony is set to be thicker and heavier so that it can support 5G, but we are not sure for quite a while now and it may be IFA 2019 at the earliest for us to get to hear about a flagship Sony handset.