During Day 0 at MWC19 in Barcelona, Huawei demonstrated a 4K video-on-demand service on a Huawei 5G foldable smartphone, via a Vodafone Spain 5G live network.
The Mate X phone has a 6.6-inch display when closed, but this flips out to 8 inches. It also features 5G connectivity, a 4,500-mAh battery and three rear cameras.
MWC19 hasn’t even properly got underway yet but Ben Wood, Mobile/Wireless Industry Analyst at CCS Insight, said of the Mate X, “Little doubt this is the product of the show.”
Huawei said the demo showcased “the extraordinary Gbit/s-level bandwidth that 5G networks will provide anywhere, anytime”.
The Mate X will start at €2,299. It is due to go on sale from the middle of this year.
Operator growth
The theme of Huawei’s Day 0 event was how to inspire new growth for operators and accelerate digital transformation through technological innovation and business model optimisation.
Ryan Ding, Huawei Executive Director and President of the Carrier Business Group, said: “The wave of 5G is sweeping the globe, giving us a better life empowered by new technologies. At the same time, the Gbit/s-level connections enabled by 5G and the monetisation of experience fuelled by CloudX services give global carriers new business opportunities.”
Huawei defines Cloud X as “a content and service delivery framework comprised of cloud-based GPU (graphics processing unit)-based servers, applications streamed from the cloud, high-speed mobile connectivity and smart hardware clients”. It has applications for cloud PC, cloud gaming and cloud AR/VR in particular, Huawei says.
Ding added that Huawei will set up open labs to help its customers create innovative 5G services on their networks.
He said the the labs will be a platform for carriers to experience the latest 5G innovations and a “5G + CloudX environment for them to find partners to explore and nurture new services to cater to local market demand”.
Day 0 devices
Day 0 also saw press conferences from LG, Nokia and Microsoft.
Microsoft launched its new HoloLens 2, a mixed-reality headset for industrial applications.
LG announced two phones – the G8 ThinQ, including 3D mapping for face unlock, hand- and vein-scanning for user authentication and touchless gesture control, and the V50 ThinQ 5G, the manufacturer’s first 5G device.
Nokia launched its Nokia 9 PureView, with no fewer than nine rear cameras.