MANILA, Philippines – A big year is coming up for Samsung as the South Korean tech giant and US network partner Verizon reveal that the Samsung 5G phone will be coming out in the first half of 2019 in the US.

The tech companies made the announcement online on Monday, December 3, US time, as they prepare to reveal a proof of concept for the upcoming device later this week at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Technology Summit in Hawaii. The said device will be powered by the latest Qualcomm flagship chip just like previous Samsung flagships. In the 5G phone’s case, the chip will be equipped with a Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem along with “antenna modules with integrated RF transceiver, RF front-end and antenna elements.” 

The device is said to be “the result of years of collaboration to deploy an end-to-end solution for commercial 5G services using Samsung network equipment and personal devices.”  

The US already has commercial 5G services, with Verizon launching 5G Home in October in select cities – Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento – which the company claims to be the world’s first commercial 5G service.

In the Philippines, Globe has said that their 5G services will go live by the second quarter of 2019 while Smart has begun live-testing of their 5G networks in Clark, Pampanga, and Makati City. What this means is that, with 5G networks likely going up soon in the Philippines, the wait may not be that long before 5G phones – from Samsung or otherwise – make it to the country as well. 

Verizon’s 5G service for mobile devices will go live in early 2019, setting up the stage for Samsung’s 5G phones, and likely from other brands that have made 5G device promises in the US such as OnePlus and Motorola.  

Huawei, the rising rival, has also made some announcements regarding their own 5G plans in the past months. In July, they said they’ll be coming out with a 5G prototype in early 2019, and later in October, their CEO Richard Yu announced that they’re working on a 5G phone that’s foldable. Samsung is also working on a foldable phone but currently, it’s expected that their foldable phone and their 5G phone are separate models. Apple, on the other hand, will reportedly be coming out with a 5G device in 2020 – a little bit later than its rivals. 

Another Chinese company, Xiaomi, has also declared a 5G version of their current Mi Mix 3 flagship, slated early 2019. 

WIth the exponential speed increase and latency improvement that 5G is expected to bring, companies are racing to lay claim to the title of being the world’s first 5G phone provider – a title that’s sure to fortify the winning brand’s reputation as a tech leader. – Rappler.com