Can 5G China phones outpace iPhone 11?

China smartphones are poised to take advantage of the iPhone 11 series' lack of 5G support. With Apple's iPhone 11 models supporting only 4G, Chinese consumers will either have to wait for next year's 5G-enabled iPhone or purchase the Huawei Mate 20 X, Axon 10 Pro 5G or the upcoming 5G phones from Vivo and Xiaomi. More ready-to-source 5G smartphones from China will also be available at Global Sources in the coming months.

5G greatly increases cellular connection speed enough for users to download movies in seconds. This next-generation cellular connectivity can also reduce delays and provide more bandwidth and better video resolution. Watching in 4K videos can be the norm. China users won't be able to experience these big advantages of 5G when using any of the iPhone 11 models. The minor upgrade in the iPhone 11 Pro and Max models is the addition of a third camera. However, many smartphones from China manufacturers already follow this triple-rear camera mobile trend.

China is also the main player in 5G technology, surpassing US, Japan, and South Korea. According to South China Morning Post, commercial application for 5G will soon be available in China. With the iPhone 11 not supporting 5G, several Chinese users posted disappointed comments on Weibo about the iPhone 11 release. The most popular hashtag, according to a Quartz article, was #iPhone11 has no 5G version. Phone users typically hold on to their phones for two to three years. This means, if they buy the iPhone 11 this year, they won't be able to experience 5G connection up until 2021 to 2022. The situation can be ironic, given that 5G is set to already be rolled out by mid-2020 in China. According to a Weibo user, "this version is like a transition product. There's nothing much to look at besides iOS. I am looking forward to next year's if they have a bigger change. I am looking at Huawei's Mate series more than Apple's iPhones now". Cheaper domestic smartphones with 5G capabilities seem to be the more popular choice among users in China.

Researchers from IDC have also commented on how 4G phones can pale in comparison to 5G phones in terms of sales in regions with 5G connectivity. According to another South China Morning Post article, Kiranjeet Kaur notes that "the lack of 5G support on phones released in countries where 5G has already launched, or is expected to launch soon, will make 4G-only phones less attractive". 5G phones like the Galaxy S10 5G, Xiaomi 5G Mi MIX 3, Oppo Reno 5G, and the LG V50 ThinQ are already available in the market.

iPhone sales have been on the decline, while Chinese phone brands are on the rise, as seen in the smartphone quarter sales report. Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo have a massed massive growth in the market. RealMe also entered the top 10 OEMs globally for the first time. With their cutting-edge innovation, it is likely that China smartphones will continue to grow in the Asian smartphone market, while the fate of the iPhone 11 series is yet to be seen.