This Will Be Xiaomi's First 5G-Ready Phone

Xiaomi doesn’t want to get left behind when 5G networks go live around the world.

In a tweet, Xiaomi’s Donovan Sung showed the soon-to-be-announced Mi Mix 3. The flagship seems to be in a laboratory, and its status bar reveals something very special about connectivity. Look closely at the status bar and a 5G icon appears in the top right corner.

Based on that, it’s clear Xiaomi will make the Mi Mix 3 its first 5G-ready phone.

While the networks won’t launch in full in 2018, Xiaomi and other companies are performing tests in an effort to ease the transition from 4G to 5G. Globally, carriers and hardware manufacturers are collaborating closely after the arrival of 4G LTE didn’t go so smooth.

The test on Xiaomi’s Mi Mix 3, which might’ve been done in China, was deemed a complete success. Sung says that download speeds are “more than 10X faster” than 4G speeds, which shouldn’t be surprising. 5G networks are made to be faster and more reliable than the current technology. It could also lead to higher capacities on each network.

So far, there isn’t a date on the calendar for Xiaomi to make an announcement. But the Chinese company did say the Mi Mix 3 should be announced and released by the end of October. Just don’t expect 5G connectivity to be available right away. That’ll need some help from carriers to unlock access.