First 5G smartphone by Huawei expected to be launched on July 26: What we know so far

The Chinese telecom giant Huawei is planning to launch its first 5G smartphone on July 26 despite the ongoing tensions with the United States. The state-run Global Times quoted unnamed Huawei officials as saying that the smartphone maker's first 5G smartphone, the Huawei Mate 20 X, could be released at its headquarters in Shenzhen. If the smartphone is launched this month, it would give Huawei a lead over its competitors. The statement also comes just one month after China had allowed its major state-owned companies to start rolling out 5G services.

Huawei believes that the smartphone would give the much-needed boost to China's 5G market and will create more opportunities. "The release of the Huawei Mate 20 X will also give a boost to China’s 5G market, which is also the largest smartphone market; It will lead the sector toward broader consumer use of 5G technologies and shore up more opportunities for the supply chain and application sides," James Yan, Beijing-based research director at Counterpoint, told the daily.

The 5G smartphone is expected to be powered by Huawei's own chipset division Kirin. Last month, the company had announced that Huawei Mate 20X became the first Chinese smartphone to get a 5G network license which means that Chinese consumers will soon be able to purchase it and enjoy super-fast 5G speed.

Huawei had ran into trouble earlier this year as the US government raised concerns about its coziness with the Chinese government and expressed fears that its equipment could be used to spy on other countries and companies.

Later, US President Donald Trump banned Huawei products to be used in American telecom networks citing security reasons. He had also urged the allies to block the company from their 5G networks, saying the Chinese government could use its products for surveillance.

Following this, Google had decided to cut off Huawei phones from future Android updates. This had forced the company to work on its own operating system. In a recent development. Huawei CEO had claimed that its HongMeng OS alternative is 'likely' faster than Android, but needs its own app store.