The year 2020 is said to be the year when 5G is finally going to make its presence felt. We’ve seen 5G-enabled smartphones making their way to a few markets in 2019 itself, but smartphone makers are now aggressively launching devices that support the high-speed next-gen connectivity. Recently Samsung launched its new Galaxy S20 series with all three models offering support for 5G. Later in the year, we are expecting Apple to launch its new iPhone range that should come with new modems to support 5G.
The story in India however, is quite different. Trials for 5G are yet to happen, which means that it could take at least a year or two before the actual auctions take place and then circles are allocated to various network providers. But does that make a difference for smartphone makers? Not at all.
Realme had announced last week that it is bringing India’s first 5G smartphone. This is days after iQoo announced it will be launching its first smartphone in India, which is also going to be the first 5G phone in India. *Facepalm*
Now for the ones who are unaware, iQoo is a sub-brand of Vivo which has launched a couple of phones in China in the past. The company finally entered the Indian smartphone space by launching the iQoo 3 in India today. The handset is loaded with the new Snapdragon 865 processor, hence becoming the first phone to offer the new flagship chipset as well as 5G connectivity.
Realme however, countered iQoo by launching the Realme X50 Pro 5G in India on Monday. Since the launch happened a day before iQoo, the company has now taken over the claim of launching India’s first 5G smartphone. To put things into perspective, the Realme X50 Pro 5G was supposed to launch at MWC (Mobile World Congress). But since the expo was cancelled due to the critical Coronavirus outbreak, Realme hosted a global launch elsewhere and at the same time launched the phone in India.
Practically speaking, launching India’s first 5G smartphone is completely pointless. There is no 5G in India and there won’t be any, at least until the next year. As I mentioned above, India is far from allocating spectrum to telecom operators, heck, most of the operators in the country are running in losses. Another thing to note here is that chipsets with 5G connectivity cost way more than phones with LTE, including the Snapdragon 865. Sure, everyone loves to upgrade to a new faster processor, but would you pay extra for a marginal increase in performance, which is hardly even visible? Maybe bring these 5G modem equipped chips once the pricing is a bit more stabilised?
Now I am not pointing fingers at Realme or iQoo. My point is that smartphone manufacturers shouldn’t bother pushing the 5G hype in India yet. This marketing gimmick is not actually going to make sense. Rather they could highlight the fact that their phones are coming with the latest flagship processor, a tactic that actually works in India as consumers love to compare specifications. What is the point of offering a certain feature to the consumer when they can’t actually make use of it? It is like becoming the first to make a nuclear-powered car, only there is no stable nuclear fuel to power the vehicle.
In my opinion, both of these smartphones, apart from becoming the 'first 5G smartphones' in India, have accomplished something far bigger. The Realme X50 Pro 5G and the iQoo 3 have actually managed to take a jab at OnePlus. Both are offering the new Snapdragon 865 chipset and some high-end features at fairly good price, something that OnePlus has been doing for years. But only this time, the 'flagship killer' is going to be late for the party as the OnePlus 8 series is not expected to launch before March. For the ones who are interested, here are the full specifications of both the phones.
The new iQoo 3 features a 6.44-inch full-HD+ (1080x2400 pixels) Super AMOLED display with support for HDR 10+ and 91.40 percent screen-to-body ratio with Schott Xensation UP protective layer. There is a punch-hole on the top right corner for the camera and other features include a 180Hz touch sampling rate, and 800 nits of peak brightness that can max out at 1200 nits in certain cases. as per iQoo.
As mentioned above, the handset is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. There is a quad-camera setup at the back with a 48-megapixel primary camera with the Sony IMX582 sensor and an f/1.79 aperture lens. This is paired to a 13-megapixel telephoto lens with an f/2.46 aperture and 20x digital zoom, a 13-megapixel wide-angle snapper with an f/2.2 aperture and a 120-degree field of view, and a 2-megapixel portrait camera with an f/2.4 aperture. At the front, there is a 16-megapixel selfie camera with an f/2.45 aperture.
Rest of the features include 5G, 4G, Bluetooth 5.1, dual-SIM card tray, USB Type-C 2.0, GPS, Glonass and a 4,440mAh battery. The large battery can be charged from 0-50% in just 15 mins using the proprietary 55W Super FlashCharge technology. The handset will be offered in Quantum Silver, Tornado Black and Volcano Orange colour options. The handset is priced at Rs 36,990 for the base variant offering 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage which sounds quite like a deal. The 8GB + 256GB variant is priced at Rs 39,990 while the top of the line 12GB + 256GB variant will be available for Rs 44,990. Notably, iQoo is offering 5G connectivity only on the top variant.
the X50 Pro 5G is Realme’s most expensive Android phone yet. Prices for this start at Rs 37,999 for the 6GB + 128GB variant. You can also choose from the mid-range spec that offers 8GB RAM and 128GB storage for Rs 39,999 or the fully loaded 12GB RAM and 256GB storage option for Rs 44,999. This one is also powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. It is also the first phone in India with the more efficient LPDDR5 RAM as well as WiFi 6 standard. Realme says that LPDDR5 RAM is 29% faster and consumes 14% lesser power compared with the LPDDR4X RAM modules. The 4,200mAh battery gets the 65w fast charging, which Realme calls Super Dart and says it is the world’s fastest smartphone charging product. A fully discharged battery can be fully charged in 30 minutes.
The Realme X50 Pro 5G also has a 6.44-inch Super AMOLED 90Hz display. This display supports HDR10+ and DCI-P3 standards. The quad-camera setup at the back, which Realme calls Hawk Eye, includes the main 64-megapixel sensor, a 12-megapixel zoom lens that enables 20x zoom and an 8-megapixel wide sensor. At the front is the combination of a 32-megapixel camera and an 8-megapixel camera. The Realme X50 Pro 5G will be available in two colour options—rather innovatively named Moss Green and Rust Red.
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