The first batch of 5G mobile phones are coming. What are the "killer" applications?

A relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently said that my country's first 5G mobile phone is expected to be launched in the second half of 2019. As mobile phones have become an indispensable "daily standard" for people in the information society, what new things will 5G mobile phones with faster network speeds bring to users? What impact and changes will they bring to the smartphone market?

5G mobile phones will be launched next year, ushering in a new track for the mobile phone industry

5G networks can provide enhanced mobile broadband services with high speed, low latency, reliability and security. Since 2013, my country has launched the world's largest 5G trial. In 2018, my country has launched the third phase of 5G technology research and development trials, which is also a key year for 5G to carry out large-scale trials and market layout.

At the first Digital China Construction Summit held recently, Wen Ku, Director of the Information and Communications Development Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that it is expected that the first batch of 5G chips will be taped out by the end of this year and completed around the Spring Festival of 2019, commercial base station construction will be carried out in the first half of 2019, and the first batch of 5G mobile phones will be produced in the second half of 2019.

[[228058]]

At present, the three major telecommunications operators and many network communication companies are intensively carrying out 5G technology testing and development. 5G mobile phones have become a new track for major mobile phone manufacturers to compete. Many mobile phone manufacturers including Huawei, Xiaomi, and Vivo have stated that they will launch 5G mobile phones in 2019.

For 5G mobile phones, mobile phone chips are at the core. Qualcomm recently announced that it will jointly launch 5G mobile phones with 19 mobile phone manufacturers and 18 operators in 2019. Among these 19 mobile phone manufacturers, there are many well-known mobile phone brands at home and abroad.

Domestic mobile phone chip manufacturers also play an important role. The reporter learned from the domestic mobile phone chip manufacturer Unisoc that Unisoc has completed the development of 5G prototypes. In October 2017, Unisoc completed the interoperability test with Huawei's 5G prototype base station, which means that Unisoc is keeping pace with the international leading level in accelerating the standardization and commercialization of 5G.

5G commercialization is expected to drive a new wave of demand for replacement phones

With the arrival of 5G mobile phones, the already saturated domestic smartphone industry will be transformed. Experts predict that the commercial use of 5G in the future will drive a new wave of demand for replacement phones.

After experiencing rapid growth in the past few years, the overall shipment volume of the domestic smartphone market has begun to decline since 2017. According to statistics from the International Data Corporation (IDC), China's smartphone shipments in 2017 were 444.3 million units, a 4.9% decline compared to 2016. The reasons for the decline in the mobile phone market include many aspects: market saturation, slow iteration cycle, lack of product upgrades and functional innovation, all of which have suppressed users' purchasing desire to a certain extent.

Following the decline in shipments in 2017, the smartphone market situation in 2018 remains bleak. Professional research institution TrendForce believes that due to the lack of innovative topics that can arouse consumers' willingness to replace their phones, it is estimated that the demand momentum of the smartphone market will continue to be weak in 2018.

Cheng Lixin, CEO of ZTE Terminal, said in Shanghai not long ago that the sales volume of China's smartphone market declined in 2017, and the industry has shifted from an incremental market to a stock market. "In 2018, the Chinese mobile phone market will be a cold winter before the arrival of 5G, and the overall demand in the mobile phone market will decline, and mobile phone brands will face a reshuffle."

5G mobile phones are said to bring new development opportunities to the industry. The bandwidth of 5G mobile phones can reach 20Gbps (1000 megabits per second, or 1Gbps). Large files such as mobile phone application data, photos, videos, and cloud disk backup or download will be completed at a very fast speed. Consumers who buy 5G mobile phones can feel the obvious difference in download speed. In addition, 5G will also bring more entertaining and innovative experiences to mobile phones.

"The life cycle of the 4G communication standard has entered the middle and late stages. The momentum of large-scale replacement demand in the past 3-4 years has gradually slowed down. The market has begun to shift its attention to the 5G communication standard, which is gradually becoming popular, and is expected to create a new wave of replacement demand." said Fan Boyu, research associate of TrendForce. Wang Yanhui, secretary general of the China Mobile Alliance, also said that the current domestic smartphone industry lacks innovation and users' motivation to replace phones has declined. Under this situation, 5G phones will bring a wave of replacement.

Market research firm Counterpoint Research recently released a report saying that 5G smartphones will enter the initial commercialization stage in 2019. As countries begin to deploy 5G infrastructure, 5G mobile phone sales will increase significantly. China, the United States, South Korea and Japan will become key markets for 5G infrastructure deployment and smartphone sales growth. It is expected that global 5G smartphone shipments will reach 110 million units by 2021.

The Internet of Everything will become a reality, but the “killer app” is still to be explored

5G will lead people into a new era of communication technology: on the one hand, it provides a very good technical foundation for the interconnection of all things and the intelligence of all things, and will open the door to the interconnection of all things; on the other hand, 5G can change people's behavior and the form of mobile phones. However, in the opinion of experts, the core functions and applications of current 5G mobile phones are still to be explored.

"The greater value and significance of 5G technology is not in mobile phones, but in areas such as autonomous driving and the Internet of Things." Wang Yanhui said that in the upcoming 5G era, 5G network speed will be 100 times that of 4G, but in addition to faster speed, what exactly is the core application of 5G mobile phones is still unclear. In the future, mobile phone users will also need more "killer" applications to activate.

"The key to the development of 5G lies in its application." Wang Jianzhou, chairman of the China Association of Listed Companies, recently said that 5G technology is no longer an obstacle, and how to apply 5G technology is the key to innovation and development. In addition to significantly improving network capacity, 5G technology will be integrated with artificial intelligence technology and develop uRLLC (low latency, high reliability) type applications in the future, which will be the key to igniting the market.

The relevant person in charge of ZTE Mobile believes that in the future 5G era of the Internet of Everything, smartphones are the "gateway" to the Internet of Things and the "nerve center" for human interaction with everything. In the future, mobile phones will inevitably become more artificially intelligent in the evolution of 5G. Smartphones will be able to see, hear, consider and understand consumers, bringing more powerful functions to users.

In addition, Yao Jiayang, an analyst at TrendForce, told reporters that since 5G mobile phones bring about a significant increase in download speeds, this also involves changes in the service model of telecom operators. Telecom operators or other service providers may provide consumers with higher-quality audio and video experiences, such as 2K images or simple VR services. In this way, consumers' stickiness to telecom operators will be improved. Of course, there will also be moderate adjustments to telecom service fees.