Mobile World Congress is full of prototype phones that promise a future of folding handsets and blazing-fast 5G speeds. Just don’t believe the hype.
At basically every phone briefing I’ve attended, the prevailing words have been “very soon,” “second quarter,” or “mid-2019.” And that’s if there was a ship date announced at all. MWC always has its share of vapory tech, but in 2019, finding something that isn’t a concept or prototype is a rarity.
Over the past few days I’ve heard all about 5G and how it will power the innovations of tomorrow, and how folding phones combine the convenience of a handset with the power of a tablet with none of the compromises. I want to believe all of it, but it’s just not realistic yet, and it probably won’t be for a very long while.
Companies like Alcatel and ZTE are promising 5G devices that make our LTE slabs look like boring old dinosaurs. The problem isn’t that these phones won’t ship—it’s that they won’t be worth buying when they do.
Oppo talked about a 5G phone, but didn’t even have a working prototype to show.
5G isn’t just a murmured buzzword at MWC this year. No, it’s literally plastered everywhere. You can’t walk 10 steps without being reminded that 5G has arrived, with Qualcomm leading the charge all over Barcelona with banners, shirts, and posters.
But has 5G really arrived? The Galaxy S10 5G, LG V50, Mi Mix 3, and every other phone that uses the Snapdragon 855 chip won’t be getting the fastest possible 5G speeds.
