14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has joined forces with a group of tech giants for the creation of 5G Windows laptops that should be here by the holiday season of 2019.
While the one year and a half target seems very optimistic, Microsoft says that together with Intel, Dell, HP, and Lenovo it should be able to launch laptops equipped with 5G models. Intel’s hardware will also support 2G, 3G, and LTE, but the goal is to reach 5G if the networks support it.
And this is actually the bigger challenge. While 5G is indeed on its way, the biggest carriers in the United States don’t seem to be in a rush to add support for this technology to their networks. Both AT&T and Verizon are projected to release 5G by the end of this year, while T-Mobile plans to do the same next year, but all without any ETA specifics.
Qualcomm also investing in 5G tech
Microsoft’s late-2019 target, however, could mean that the company and its partners are waiting for networks to add gigabit speeds before launching new Windows devices to the market.
No other information was provided on this collaboration, but the partnership between Microsoft and the largest PC manufacturers is likely to push other OEMs to 5G modem adoption as well, once the technology becomes available.
What’s more, Qualcomm is also working on its own 5G modems, and given Microsoft’s investments in Windows 10 on ARM devices, there’s a chance a wider array of devices with gigabit speeds could reach the market in the next couple of years.
With Snapdragon chips on PCs, Microsoft has created what it calls “Always Connected PCs,” which are primarily devices running Windows 10 on ARM chipsets and offering longer battery life. The first such devices are projected to hit the market this spring, while new ones powered by Snapdragon 845 are due later this year.