There are not many functional 5G networks in the world at this stage which is why there is only one 5G phone available, and that is apparently having connectivity issues. Soon though there will be a lot more with OPPO becoming the first 5G phone available in Europe.
Overnight OPPO revealed that the OPPO Reno 5G will become the “first commercial 5G smartphone available on market in Europe” today when it makes its debut on Swisscom in Switzerland. The phone will be available to customers at Swisscom shops and online with prices starting from CHF 999 (~AU$1400).
The phone is most definitely a premium flagship phone with Snapdragon 855 along with a triple rear camera featuring 10x zoom and a massive display bereft of any interruptions from notches or holes/cutouts. The front-facing is a popup camera but not in the expected sense — the camera pokes up in an angular fashion similar to the shape of a shark fin.
Overnight we also had Swisscom competitor Sunrise release a statement that they will be launching Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G and Huawei Mate 20X (5G) smartphones tomorrow, May 2. The Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G will retail for CHF 847 (~AU$1,200) and the Huawei Mate 20X (5G) CHF 997 (~AU$1,400).
Both of these phones are not new phones but 5G variants of their original 4G variants released late last year although both are definitely premium devices with high end specs and amazing cameras — especially the Mate 20X (5G).
Sounds impressive but what does it mean for us? By now it should be fairly clear that OPPO only have one 5G phone available at the moment, and Telstra have said that they will be getting OPPO’s first 5G phone. Putting 2 and 2 together we can safely assume that the OPPO Reno 5G will land on Telstra in the not-to-distant future. You would expect it to be very close if it is working in Switzerland.
The Huawei Mate 20X (5G) will most likely not make it to a carrier here at this stage as it has not been mentioned by Telstra and Optus are a bit away from a functional 5G network.
We will be keeping our eyes peeled for more information in the coming weeks — the 5G phones are expected to arrive in the next two months.
