Chinese smartphone makers are already racing through the testing phase of next-generation mobile network 5G on their smartphones. After Xiaomi announcing that it's indeed testing 5G on the upcoming Mi Mix 3 smartphone, it's now the turn of Vivo to announce the same. Vivo, the BBK Electronics-owned brand has revealed its plans to initiate industry development of pre-commercial 5G smartphones by introducing 5G software and hardware based on Vivo NEX smartphone series. The brand has successfully completed the initial development of 5G smartphone software and hardware on Vivo NEX, courtesy of Qualcomm X50 modem.
Vivo Successfully Concluded Initial 5G Testing on NEX
The Chinese company today released a press statement which says that it has concluded: "initial architecture planning, 3D placement stacking, RF /antenna designs and optimised battery space within NEX to deliver 5G capabilities." And for this, Vivo has used Qualcomm's X50 modem which is 5G compatible. Furthermore, Vivo stated that the 5G version of NEX had completed the first phase of the protocol and signalling tests with Keysight UXM 5G signalling.
Now, the Vivo's 5G pre-commercial smartphone will enter IODT tests with 5G infrastructure and networking equipment, as Vivo will work towards its goal of launching the first batch of 5G smartphones to the public by 2019. Vivo also confirmed that the 5G version of NEX supports the non-standalone Architecture (NSA) model which includes a dual connection for both Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and New Radio (NR), based on 3GPP Release 15 standards.
"The 5G era will spark abundant and new possibilities for the smartphone industry. The combination of 5G and AI Technologies will turn smartphones into intelligent platforms which will take the industry to new heights. We foresee that with 5G and AI, the smartphone will become the sensory, control and service hub for consumer lives", says Alex Feng, Senior Vivo President of Vivo.
Vivo Began its Research into 5G Long Back
For the unaware, Vivo began its research into 5G right after the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) released the vision of IMT-2020 (5G). Vivo set up its 5G Research Institute in Beijing in 2016 and became one of the main contributors at the 3GPP standard group to develop 5G technologies.
In the past year, Vivo activated 5G antenna and RF related development to accelerate Vivo's pace of 5G innovation further. Vivo also partnered with China Mobile on the "China Mobile 5G Device Forerunner Initiative" and has been working closely with Qualcomm on 5G developments, including recently the successful design and integration of new 5G mm-Wave (millimetre wave) antenna arrays into a Vivo commercial form factor.
Xiaomi Also Testing 5G on its Mi Mix 3
Very recently, Xiaomi confirmed that it's testing 5G on its upcoming Mi Mix 3 smartphone, but the company did not inform whether the device will support 5G network or not. Like Vivo, Xiaomi must also be testing 5G network using Qualcomm X50 modem on the Mi Mix 3, but the commercial 5G smartphone could launch at a later day.
