Incoming: 5G phones at 'very interesting price points'

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Depending on where you live, 5G may already be a part of your life, but for most people the benefits of the next generation mobile network are yet to be realized.

While 5G launched in 2019, in reality only a handful of cities around the world have been treated to the tech so far, and a pricey 5G phone is required to take advantage of the new data speeds.

Now, in early 2020, more than 45 mobile carriers have launched 5G offerings in 20 countries, including the likes of the US, UK and Australia, and we've just seen more 5G handsets announced, such as the new Samsung Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus and Galaxy S20 Ultra.

While 5G phones are still out of many people's price range there is hope on horizon, as chipset maker Qualcomm has hinted that more affordable options are not far away.

Speaking during a briefing for the firm's new Snapdragon X60 modem, Qualcomm's Business Development Director, Vikrant Jain said that we will "see exciting products over the next few weeks at very interesting price points."

We were expecting to see a glut of new smartphones launched during MWC 2020 between February 24-27, but with the annual mobile show cancelled due to fears over Novel Coronavirus the launches we were expecting to see that week may be delayed until March.

However, we're still likely only weeks away for a number of announcements from a variety of manufacturers with the likes of Sony, Huawei, Honor, TCL, ZTE and Nokia all rumored to have new handsets to reveal in the next month or so.

While it will be great to see more affordable 5G phones hit the market, we could see handsets with even greater 5G capabilities as soon as later this year thanks to the aforementioned Snapdragon X60 chip.

The need for more speed, but not quite yet

The Snapdragon X60 is the world's first modem to offer 5G mmWave-sub6 aggregation and sub-6 carrier aggregation across FDD, TDD.

While that may sound like nonsense, the upshot of this support for network capabilities is smartphones with the X60 chip inside them will be able to work with more 5G networks around the world which, Qualcomm claims, will deliver wider coverage and faster download and upload data speeds in the process.

It's not just phones which need a modem with these capabilities, mobile carriers also need to upgrade their networks to provide the enhanced service.

These upgrades are expected to take place during 2020 for most carriers in the US, Europe, China, Japan and Korea, with the rest of the world having to wait longer for the support to reach their shores.

There's no firm date on when we can expect the first smartphones packing the X60 modem to roll off production lines - it could be later this year in devices such as the Google Pixel 5 and Samsung Galaxy Note 20, but it may not be until 2021.

John McCann
Former Global Managing Editor

TechRadar's former Global Managing Editor, John has been a technology journalist for more than a decade, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He’s interviewed CEOs from some of the world’s biggest tech firms, visited their HQs, and appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC, and BBC Radio 4.

Latest in Phones
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge on display the January 22, 2025 Galaxy Unpacked event.
All three rumored Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge colors shown off in ‘official’ images
Anker Zolor Power Bank 10,000mah
My favorite portable charger goes everywhere with me, and it's under $13 at Amazon right now
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Hands on
I'm actually glad the new Siri with Apple Intelligence is delayed, and here's why we've got Apple's AI problem backwards
The iPhone 16 Pro on a grey background
iPhone 17 Pro tipped to get 8K video recording – but I want these 3 video features instead
Google Pixel 9 on blue background with big savings text overlay
Forget Amazon, the best Pixel 9 deal is at Mint Mobile today - get $400 off without an annoying trade-in
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge on display the January 22, 2025 Galaxy Unpacked event.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge colors seemingly revealed in new video, and there’s another sign of an imminent launch
Latest in News
Shigeru Miyamoto presents Nintendo Today app
Nintendo Today smartphone app is out now on iOS and Android devices – and here's what it does
Nintendo Virtual Game Card
Nintendo reveals the new Virtual Game Card feature, an easier way to manage your digital Switch games
Nintendo Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order date has seemingly been confirmed by Best Buy Canada – here's when you'll be able to order yours
Person printing
Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 update exorcises possessed printers that spewed out pages of random characters
Pro-Ject A1.2 in black, playing a vinyl record in a hi-fi listening room
Pro-Ject's new fully-automatic turntable could be the buy of Record Store Day 2025
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet reportedly won't release until after 2026, as Neil Druckmann says that staff 'are playing it at the office' right now - but I don't think I can wait that long