Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom operator in India, has rolled out its 5G Plus in 25 cities so far. Airtel's 5G Plus services will reach entire India by March 2024. The telco is rolling out 5G non-standalone (NSA) networks and has branded its 5G services as 5G Plus. Right now, several brands with several smartphones have enabled their devices to support 5G network connectivity with the NSA networks of Airtel. Today, instead of focusing on every brand there is, we would be looking at the smartphones from Redmi, Xiaomi and Poco. Essentially, all of these devices are owned by one brand - Xiaomi. Let's take a look at the list.
Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco Phones in India that Can Support 5G NSA
Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco have several smartphones which can support the 5G networks of Bharti Airtel right now. Note that the smartphone companies had to roll out OTA (over-the-air) updates for their devices to enable 5G support. Thus, if your smartphone is not running on the latest version, then it will not be able to support 5G.
Also Read: Airtel 5G Plus: Our On The Go 5G Experience in Hyderabad
Here's the list of Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco smartphones that can support Airtel's 5G Plus:
- Xiaomi Mi 10
- Xiaomi Mi 10i
- Xiaomi Mi 10T
- Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro
- Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
- Xiaomi Mi 11X Pro
- Xiaomi Mi 11X
- Poco M3 Pro 5G
- Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite NE
- Poco F3 GT
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 11T 5G
- Xiaomi 11T Pro
- Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 10T
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus
- Poco M4 Pro 5G
- Poco M4 5G
- Xiaomi 12 Pro
- Xiaomi 11i
- Xiaomi Redmi 11 prime + 5G
- Poco F4 5G
- Poco X4 pro
- Xiaomi Redmi K50i
- Redmi Note 12 5G
- Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G
- Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G
Experience Airtel 5G Plus on all Existing Data Plans
Existing data plans will work on Airtel 5G Plus until roll-out is complete. The telco is not charging anything additional from its customers if they are already on a 4G plan. However, do note that with a 4G plan, the rate at which mobile data exhausts would go up. Airtel 5G Plus recently launched in the state of Odisha. The services are now available to customers in Bhubaneswar.
Airtel says that its 5G networks can deliver up to 20x to 30x more speeds. The telco is utilising the mid-band spectrum for delivering 5G to consumers in India. Airtel is also making strides with 5G in the enterprise domain. Much recently, Airtel and Mahindra group partnered to bring private 5G networks to the Chakan manufacturing facility of Mahindra.
Airtel would likely introduce 5G tariffs once it has completed covering most of India with 5G. However, the 5G tariffs won't be expensive and would be priced around 4G. Industry experts believe that higher 5G tariffs could derail the uptake of 5G services, and it wouldn't have any major impact on the overall revenues. Thus, a slightly higher price point for 5G, compared to 4G, would be sufficient.
