5G phones will pick up next year, become mainstream in 2023

Pocketnow

By Anton D. Nagy

Published Oct 22, 2019

While Foxconn is optimistic about orders for chips destined for 5G phones, analysts suggest that in 2023 these will become mainstream.

DigiTimes reports that Foxconn’s CEO CC Wei is optimistic about his company’s outlook when it comes to 5G chips. He forecasts chip demand for 5G smartphones to be on the rise. The company has revised its forecast of the 5G smartphone penetration rate next year, climbing from an initial single digit number towards 15 percent, according to the report.

Another DigiTimes report is quoting unnamed market watchers who believe that 5G-capable smartphones will surpass 4G-enabled, regular devices, in 2023. 5G smartphones are expected to start rolling out from China’s second-tier smartphone makers in the second quarter of next year.

These second-tier players, while currently exhibiting mostly 4G models at the ongoing Global Sources Mobile Electronics 2019 in Hong Kong, are developing 5G phones, ready to mass producing them when their technology becomes more mature and components supply becomes more sufficient in the second quarter of 2020 — DigiTimes

According to Canalys, 5G smartphone shipments are expected to be at 180 million units in 2020, representing 13.2% of global handset shipments. That number is expected to reach 52 percent in 2023, according to the same analyst.