OnePlus announces plan to work with chip-maker Qualcomm on 5G trials in India

OnePlus at the annual mobile exhibition, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 showcased a prototype of its first 5G phone to the public.While the Chinese OEM is reportedly planning to launch its 5G smartphone in the second quarter this year, OnePlus has now announced that it plans to work with Qualcomm on 5G trials in India.[caption id="attachment_6163271" align="alignnone" width="1024"]

OnePlus plans to start 5G trials in India with Qualcomm. Image: Reuters[/caption]The company in a press statement noted that it will be among one of the first smartphone manufacturers' in India to launch a smartphone with Qualcomm's latest high-end mobile platform, the Snapdragon 855.“We have been loyal to Qualcomm’s 800-series Snapdragon chipsets since the release of our very first flagship device. This strong partnership with Qualcomm makes us believe that we could bring the best 5G device to the world,” Pete Lau, Founder, and CEO of OnePlus stated.Notably, OnePlus began its 5G research in the year 2016 and it later collaborated with Qualcomm to develop a OnePlus 5G device. The company's 5G project team managed to establish a 5G connection to Qualcomm Technologies laboratory in the US in August last year.As mentioned earlier, OnePlus introduced its first prototype 5G smartphone at MWC this week. The device was seen wrapped around in a large white box that covered every part except for the phone's display. The company didn't share much detail about the device, however, The Verge quoting OnePlus said that the phone could hit a maximum speed of 500 Mbps. The device was connected to a local 5G base station which used a mmWave connection. Shadow, the cross-platform cloud gaming service demoed its game Ace Combat 7 content on the 5G device.There are no details regarding the price, features, and design on the upcoming OnePlus 5G smartphone. However, Pete Lau at Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit last year mentioned that 5G phone could cost around $200-$300 more than the current OnePlus flagship model.While OnePlus has confirmed that it will be one of the first OEMs to launch a Snapdragon 855-powered smartphone in India and tabled its plan of bringing 5G trials in the country, it remains to be seen as when a fully commercialised OnePlus 5G arrives in the Indian market.For all the latest Mobile World Congress 2019, you can head to our MWC 2019 page.