5G smartphones unwrapped: all eyes on the price

While the cancellation of MWC 2020 removed a major showcase for the latest and greatest industry developments, several events happened in the run-up or were converted to alternative formats. In the first of this Unwrapped series, we analyse the spate of recent 5G smartphone launches and announcements. Selected high-profile events and releases included:

Samsung “Galaxy Unpacked 2020” (San Francisco, 11 February): Galaxy S20 range

Xiaomi flagship launch event (Beijing, 13 February): Mi10, Mi10 Pro

Huawei “Together, Connecting Possibilities” (virtual, 24 February): Mate XS

LG flagship launch (virtual, 26 February): V60 ThinQ

5G smartphone launches are accelerating in 2020: a total of 20 new models were announced in Q1, equivalent to roughly 40% of the 52 announced or released 5G smartphones to date. Not surprisingly, these have mostly come from early 5G-adopting countries, principally China, South Korea, the US and high-income markets in Europe. Samsung and Huawei lead in terms of volume. As the number of 5G models has increased, the disparity between prices has become more apparent. Now, price tiers are beginning to take shape. Samsung and Huawei represent the premium end of the continuum, while Vivo and Oppocurrently offer among the lowest-priced 5G smartphones. A full list of 5G smartphones and prices is displayed in the appendix.