If you have been hunting for a low priced 5G phone, then you probably already know they are priced north of US $140. Some good news here: that’s about to change.
Qualcomm, the phone chip maker, announced today a new 5G chipset called Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 (SM4635) targeted specifically, at low priced mobile phones.
Essentially, these are the phones that someone would upgrade to from a feature phone. Think itel A70, Redmi 13, Tecno Pop 8, Samsung Galaxy A05s and entry level smartphones.
The chips will be on some new Xiaomi smartphones launching for the Indian market later this year. Of course, these phones will their way to Africa and we’ll be able to buy them too.
This new Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset is a toned down version of the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chipset which is already in slightly more expensive phones like the Redmi 13 5G, Poco M6 5G Plus (Poco is Xiaomi spin-off brand), and some Vivo Y series phones.
Here are the key features that phones with the new Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset will have:
- Qualcomm’s 5G Modem-RF System with 1 Gbps peak internet speeds (theoretically 7x faster compared to LTE peak speeds)
- Ability for 40W fast-charging
- Camera quality of up to 84 megapixels
- Support for FHD+ displays at 90 FPS (generally brighter display than your average $100 phone)
- Dual-frequency GPS with NavIC L1+L5 for improved location accuracy (just me struggling with GPS accuracy in Google Maps on these entry level phones?)
- Ability to switch easily from 5G to Qualcomm Wi-Fi 5
- Support for Bluetooth 5.1
The geeks amoung you can download the spec brief for the chipset here.
Worth it buying a 5G phone in Zimbabwe?
It’s all good celebrating faster and better technology coming to low cost entry level phones, but the question remains – is not having 5G a deal breaker right now when buying a phone? Is this just hype you should cast aside?
We think having a 5G phone doesn’t matter much yet. It’s ok to have one, yes, but with all of 27 5G base stations the whole country, the number of times you’ll be able to get 5G is really insignificant right now. And it’s not like Zimbabwe is thriving economically that number will increase rapidly anytime soon.
I confess, 5g is nice but I keep my phone on 3g unless I’m caught out for work. It saves power and I hardly ever see 5g signal anyway. 4g+ on its own is good enough to wipe my data bundles in a day 😂
But the tech coming down well into my price range is cool. If I need to sidegrade anytime soon, I’ll have options
Ko ndaisa zviziva ka ndaishaya why data rangu ririkasika perà
Speed kills for sure. You can finish your data before you know it😂
– Backups are an issue too. Set them for wifi only
– Some phones like mine have a data saver mode, just be careful it doesn’t affect important background apps you rely on like mail
– If you hotspot, make absolutely sure you set the network as a ‘metered connection’ or whatever your operating system calls it. That way, the device you connect will try and respect your data by not running automatic updates, reducing background connections and cloud synching. This is mostly for OS level stuff only. Individual programs will have to be blocked manually or set not to update
– you can turn off autoplaying previews in some apps and websites like YouTube
Considering the state of 5g n zim, buying a 5g fone z a total waste of money. By e tym 5g gains traction, current fones will be outdated
Here’s some advice…
If ever you’re living in Zimbabwe and you have the chance to choose between 2 phones either in the low/mid range
One has 5G and the other is 4G.
Always always! Pick the 4G phone doing otherwise would be very unwise.
(1) Econet has 1012 4G bases stations nd only 25 5G base stations. Do the maths
(2) 5G is still a relatively new technology and so there’s still a price premium compared to 4G which has been around for decades. This is important because for the phone manufacturer to hit a certain price point some (sometimes a lot) of cost cost cutting measures needed to be taken.
So 2 phones with the same name eg Tecno Spark 20 pro vs Tecno Spark 20 Pro 5G
On the 5G you get a 8MP selfie camera vs the 32MP on the 4G, and the 5G has no headphone jack.
I have even seen some phones where the 5G loses the OLED screen in order to ensure that the 5G phone hits a certain price point.
Besides let’s be honest at the low end or even the mid range the owners of those phones are very price conscious so they almost definitely not going to be willing to pay the price premium for 5G data that Econet charges.
So right now 5G is not a nice to have feature it’s practically meaningless maybe 5/10 years from now it might be a worth considering.
I think the point in this article is the 5G capability is coming to those low cost category processors so in the near future, manufactures won’t have to sacrifice as much, if anything, to hit the previous price points. So yes, for now there are trade offs, but once these chips hit mass adoption, they’ll just cost the same as the current 4G variants. It will probably mean going back to the ‘Pro’ model of doing things where the USP will be cameras, screens, RAM etc
Having 5g in a budget phone is like having a high capacity, fuel guzzling engine in a Honda Fit.The reason people buy budget phones is to save money.I wouldn’t buy a budget phone with 5g capacity in it, it defeats the whole budget phone concept.
Beep Bop Boop
You raise a valid point about the power consumption of early 5G modems. However, the new SM4635 chipset is specifically designed for power efficiency. It’s like having a small, turbocharged engine in your Honda Fit – it gives you a boost when you need it without draining your fuel tank.
While 5G might not be essential today, it’s rapidly becoming the standard. Investing in a budget phone with 5G now future-proofs your device and ensures you’re ready for the next generation of mobile experiences. Plus, 5G offers more than just speed; it’s about better overall performance and access to new services.
It’s about making technology accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford flagship phones.
I bought my Samsung Galaxy 5G mobile phone in 2021 up to now i haven’t tasted the 5G network, no 5G Econet base station in my area, so hapana hapana zvakangofanana apa unenge wabuda mari kkk ma1 chaiwo
Same here but one thing I like about my 5G Samsung is all the newer features and standards it came with. It was the lowest samsung 5G phone at the time but it easily kept up with and was several times smoother than my previous midranger. Even network wise, no 5G to be had but it has 4G+ capability, making it faster for data.
25 5G Econet base stations might have been true few months ago. Getting 5G access in Budiriro, Mufakose, Glenview now
I will buy it for the other specs not the 5G one. I am an audiophile and I have never found a mobile device to listen to hi-rest audio in the 24bit deothsand 96khz frequencies so this will be the go to device experience studio audio quality. Otherwise the 5G thing is nothing to us here in Zimbabwe where not even a single network has wifi calling and high definition calls
any track coming down is great….but personally I’ve turned of 5g on my device…the battery saving is far more important to and I ahave say the general public…just browsing the web and WhatsApp do you really need 5g….4gplus yes
5 g is almost non existent here in zim,hence l don’t see a viable reason to purchase a 400 dollar phon just for the 5g written spec.its more better to buy a 4g phone which is more cheaper and may even have the same specs as the 5g ones
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