Huawei: 5G will arrive on cheap smartphones at the end of this year

Huawei thinks that the price of the cheapest 5G phones will fall so far that cheap 5G phones will also appear at the end of this year. Phones with 5g often still cost more than 500 euros. At 4g, prices also fell rapidly.

Huawei’s chief executive for 5g equipment, Yang Chaobin, says 5G-enabled smartphones could hit stores for 1,000 yuan at the end of this year or early next year, according to CNMO. That is converted about 130 euros currently, but Chinese prices are without VAT; a 1000 yuan phone quickly costs between 150 and 200 euros in the Benelux.

That is far below the prices that manufacturers are now charging. The cheapest 5g smartphones so far are around 600 euros. The price drop came with 4g: at the beginning of 2013, it was only available on more expensive high-end smartphones, but in 2014 4g became available on cheaper smartphones. Phones with 5g first came out last year.

Other manufacturers have also hinted at lower prices for 5G smartphones. HMD would like to equip a ‘cheaper’ Nokia smartphone with 5g. There are currently few socs available with 5g support. The cheaper ones are Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765 and MediaTek’s Dimensity 800.