Vivo offers new smartphone with 5G, 4G versions as China demand for advanced service still in early days
- Less than 1 million 5G smartphones are forecast to sell in China this year, according to IDC
- That number is projected to grow to 57 million next year as 5G network services expand
The Nex 3 from Vivo, however, is designed to appeal to more consumers in the world’s largest smartphone market because it is available in 5G and 4G versions, according to the Dongguan-based company.
“We’re trying to provide more choices for consumers,” said Ding Guanli, a Vivo product manager, at a media briefing ahead of the Nex 3’s formal launch in Shanghai on Monday. The company’s 4G and 5G Nex 3 models will be sold separately.
That strategy is expected to keep Vivo competitive in China and other markets, as telecommunications network operators push forward their initial roll-outs of ultra-fast 5G mobile services.
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“We expect less than 1 million 5G smartphones [to be sold in China] this year, but that number will reach 57 million in 2020 when these devices represent 15 per cent of the total market.” said Bryan Ma, vice-president of client devices research at IDC.
Ma indicated that China, along with other economies, will see “a gradual transition to 5G”. That pace will “naturally increase based on network availability and as prices of handsets decline”, he said.
China’s overall smartphone market continued to slow down in the second quarter because of longer replacement cycles and growing channel inventories. IDC estimated Huawei Technologies’ domestic smartphone shipments increased 27 per cent during that quarter from a year ago, while close rivals Vivo and Oppo posted a decrease of 8 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively.
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Both the 5G and 4G versions of Nex 3 are powered by US semiconductor firm Qualcomm’s first 5G-ready chipset, the Snapdragon 855 Plus. The handset also has a notch-free, 6.89-inch display, a 16-megapixel elevating front camera and a round panel at the back that features its 64MP main camera, 13MP wide-angle camera and 13MP telescopic camera.
Prices for the Nex 3’s 4G version start at 4,998 yuan (US$706), while the 5G version will sell from 5,698 yuan.
In China’s 5G handset market, Vivo’s new premium smartphone will initially compete against Huawei’s Mate 20 X, ZTE Corp’s Axon 10 Pro and Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S10. These three models, which were initially available as 4G handsets, had their 5G versions released a few months ago.
“Many brands will have both 4G and 5G models in the market because we are still in the early stages of 5G network development,” said Zaker Li, a senior analyst at IHS Markit Technology.
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