OnePlus has lifted the covers from the company's first 5G-ready phone at MWC 2019, giving us a veiled look at the upcoming smartphone. The device showcased by the company is a prototype smartphone powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC paired with the Snapdragon X50 5G modem to facilitate 5G connectivity. But unfortunately, the 5G-ready OnePlus smartphone that is up for demonstration at MWC 2019 is heavily covered by a case that surrounds the sides as well as a large portion of its display, obscuring its design.
OnePlus confirmed back in December last year that the company will launch a 5G smartphone by the end of May 2019, after having revealed that it will be around $200-$300 pricier than its predecessor. Earlier this month, OnePlus confirmed that the company has partnered with Qualcomm and will showcase its 5G smartphone prototype at MWC 2019, a claim that is now a reality.
While the company's 5G prototype smartphone is being demonstrated to attendees, the smartphone maker has not revealed any substantial detail regarding its hardware specifications. OnePlus is also yet to reveal any information about its global availability and carrier collaborations except for Finland and the UK. A few days ago, OnePlus officially announced that the company's 5G smartphone will hit the shelves in Finland in the second quarter of 2019 after forging a partnership the top Finnish telecom service provider, Elisa. Additionally, the company had earlier confirmed that it is working with EE to release a 5G smartphone in the UK.
The prototype 5G smartphone being showcased at MWC 2019 is not the OnePlus 7 or any other device. As per a previous report citing the company, the OnePlus 7 won't support 5G connectivity as the company intends to debut 5G on an altogether different smartphone. Alleged leaked images of the OnePlus 7 sporting a notch-less design and a pop-up selfie camera have appeared online, but so far, there is no concrete information whether it would be the harbinger of the 5G wave for OnePlus smartphones.
