Xiaomi has already released some affordable 5G enabled smartphones into the market this year, and it doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon. The company, as usual, is partnering with Qualcomm to make 5G enabled smartphones even more affordable from 2021.
Qualcomm, a couple of days ago, announced it plans to release a 5G enable Snapdragon 4-series chip. The first device to run the SoC will arrive in Q1 2020, and according to Xiaomi, they’ll be among the first OEM to release such a device.
Xiaomi Co-Founder and Chief Executive, Lei Jun, made the announcement, and according to him, Xiaomi will be the first OEM to introduce a 5G smartphone that will be powered by the Snapdragon 4-series. Below are the words of the Lei Jun:
According to him “2020 marks the year of 5G proliferation. In scaling the deployment of 5G, we have introduced several 5G smartphones powered by Snapdragon 8-series and 7-series 5G mobile platforms. Today, it is exciting to see Qualcomm Technologies expand 5G to the Snapdragon 4-series, accelerating 5G global commercialization. Xiaomi will become one of the world’s first OEMs to introduce a 5G smartphone powered by the Snapdragon 4-series 5G mobile platform. This year marks Xiaomi’s 10th anniversary. In the past decade, none of Xiaomi’s milestones couldn’t be set without the support of Qualcomm, our most important and closest partner. Xiaomi has entered more than 90 global markets. In terms of smartphone shipments, Xiaomi is the top five in 50 markets. We would not be able to obtain the trust from our extensive global consumer base without excellent partners like Qualcomm. This is another step forward in our long-standing collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies.”
Aside from making 5G smartphones accessible for everyone, the new Snapdragon 4-series will bring improved performance compared to the predecessor. Although we don’t expect to see a massive improvement, at least, an improved CPU and GPU performance is expected.