Yes, Huawei has its own 5G modem, the Balong 5000, which is powering the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G, and the upcoming Huawei Mate X, but the Balong 5000 seems to be a flagship, costly chip, intended for premium smartphones. If a recent report from China is to be believed, quoting local media sources, next year Huawei might be purchasing MediaTek’s 5G chip for some of its smartphones.
By “some”, considering the 200+ million phones Huawei sells per year, is quite a lot, and this way, Huawei is outplaying the U.S. ban. A Huawei smartphone with the MediaTek 5G chip could cost considerably less than a Huawei 5G flagship, and, considering the pricing of the MediaTek chip, this could be an early indication that affordable 5G smartphones are on their way, arriving as soon as 2020.
