Meizu will skip the test phase and release a “real 5G smartphone” next year

According to the published 5G product map, Meizu will launch its first 5G phone in the second quarter of 2020. By the end of 2019, the company will work in this direction and on the development of a prototype, but will not hurry, as the technology is still in the initial test phase and has shortcomings.

What do Meizu mean by “real 5G phone”?
For now, phones that support this technology use the old Qualcomm modem – X50 5G. It only works in non-standalone NSA mode and 5G NR 6GHz is only supported in TDD mode. In this case, we must have a connection to 4G and 5G networks at the same time, which leads to higher energy consumption.

The X55 5G modem presented at MWC19 in Shanghai is compatible with 2/3/4/5G and supports NSA and SA (standalone), as well as TDD/FDD below 5G NR 6GHz. In addition, the new X55 5G modem is manufactured using a 7-nanometer process, compared to the 10-nanometer design of the X50 5G. Qualcomm says it will fit phones less than 8mm thick. On the other hand, there is more space left for other components, such as a larger battery. X55 5G also supports higher download speeds – up to 7Gbps, while the X50 reaches 4.5Gbps.