OnePlus today announced that it will be showcasing a prototype 5G OnePlus phone at MWC 2019. The prototype device will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 platform and feature a 5G modem from the San Diego chipmaker.
At its booth in MWC 2019, OnePlus will allow attendees to experience “5G cloud gaming” on their new 5G prototype device. OnePlus says in its press release that it will be the first company to release a 5G commercial smartphone in the UK. For this, it has partnered with EE — the biggest network operator in the UK which is slated to enable 5G sites in 16 UK cities this year. OnePlus will not be the only OEM that will be hyping up 5G at MWC this year. LG, Huawei, and plenty of other OEMs are expected to unveil a 5G smartphone or hype up 5G at the conference this year. However, it will take at least a few years for 5G to become mainstream and for its benefits to be visible. It is likely that OnePlus will launch a special 5G variant of the OnePlus 7 a few months down the line for EE’s network in the UK. Due to current technological limitations, the first set of 5G smartphones will be network locked and won’t be compatible with other networks.
