New exciting smartphone releases were not lacking at the Mobile World Congress 2017, while the likes of Huawei and LG announced the P10/P10 Plus and G6 (respectively), ZTE Mobiles stepped up the notch with the world’s first ever Gigabit LTE or 5G-Capable Smartphone – the ZTE Gigabit Phone.
The ZTE Gigabit Phone uses the Snapdragon X16 LTE modem on Qualcomm’s Samsung co-produced Snapdragon 835 chipset. The device can achieve download speeds up to 1Gbps on supported cellular networks, hat tip to the combination of wireless carrier aggregation with 4×4 MIMO antenna technology and 256-QAM modulation.
While the figures aren’t theoretical speeds, the Gigabit Phone won’t be available for retail anytime soon, as it is only meant to showcase the advantages of 5G networks when they become available.
Commenting on the lanunch, a ZTE spokesperson said;
“We are thrilled to introduce the world’s first smartphone with download speeds up to 1Gbps. With the new device, the way people stay connected will be changed forever. Focusing on 5G technologies will be one of the key priorities of ZTE’s global development. ZTE will be very glad to leverage its technology strength and experience in 5G to cooperate with government and business partners to discuss and facilitate the upcoming 5G era.”
Both Intel and Samsung have also announced new chipsets with 5G support. Verizon has also announced it will soon commence testing 5G networks in at least 11 different markets sometime this year.
