Nokia has plans for cheaper 5G phones down the line

[Humza]

Something to look forward to: If you ask HMD Global, its 5G-capable Nokia phones planned for 2020 will have affordability as their USP. With the 5G network in its fairly early days, phones that currently support the spectrum often cost upwards of a $1,000, which Nokia tends to undercut by over fifty percent, meaning that a $500-$600 5G phone could certainly be on the table.

Appealing to the cost-conscious consumer, Nokia offers a very decent lineup of Android phones that, more or less, provide a similar user experience as that of costlier options, in most routine tasks anyway.

The company looks to continue that trend now that 5G phones are going to be the next big thing in the smartphone industry. Since most companies will soon be outing models with 5G support, preferably in their flagships, Nokia will distinguish itself with its "value" 5G smartphone.

Speaking to Digital Trends, Juho Sarvikas, HMD's chief product officer, said that the company sees a "particular opportunity" in bringing 5G to a more affordable segment as it enters the market. "I would say affordable in relation to what’s available today. I would love to see us at half of the price where you have 5G today," said Sarvikas.

Current options in the 5G smartphone market are understandably limited and expensive for the most part. Both the Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G and the LG V50 ThinQ 5G are upwards of $1,100. Cheaper options like the Motorola Z3/Z4 come in at around $800 if you count in the 5G Moto Mod accessory while the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G is only available with the UK carrier EE. Nokia 5G phones are also expected to be carrier-locked when they launch, like all 5G phones at present, due to the lack of interoperability between service providers.

Although Nokia can expect stiff competition from companies like Motorola and OnePlus, among others who'd be pushing 5G's adoption with their own cheaper offerings, a 5G Nokia phone in the $500-700 range could set an attractive price point among the competition.

After being the fastest to upgrade Nokia phones from N to O and O to P, I am super excited to share with you that the Q(ueue) for Nokia phones is moving fast as we get ready to welcome Android 10 on Nokia smartphones – roll out starts in Q4, 2019! #Nokiamobile #android10 pic.twitter.com/qXM4ZXAPBo

— Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) August 22, 2019

In a recent tweet, Sarvikas also shed some light on Nokia's roll out plans to update existing phones to Android 10. The first three phones to receive the update, in Q4 2019, are the Nokia 9 PureView, Nokia 8.1 and Nokia 7.1.

Early next year, the company will bring Android 10 to most of its remaining devices while the Nokia 1, 2.1, 3.1 and 5.1 would be the last candidates in its current line-up that'll be receiving the Android 10 update in the second quarter of 2020.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/81579-nokia-has-plans-cheaper-5g-phones-down-line.html

 

[RealNeil]

Six or seven hundred dollars is no deal at all. Budget phones need to be a lot lower priced to ensure that we'll be able to buy them. 5G is an attractive feature, but not worth getting fleaced for.

 

[psycros]

Six or seven hundred dollars is no deal at all. Budget phones need to be a lot lower priced to ensure that we'll be able to buy them. 5G is an attractive feature, but not worth getting fleaced for.

I wouldn't even pay that for a new E series which I would desperately love to see happen.

 

[trparky]

Six or seven hundred dollars is no deal at all. Budget phones need to be a lot lower priced to ensure that we'll be able to buy them. 5G is an attractive feature, but not worth getting fleeced for.

You know it does cost money to not only do the research and development but the manufacturing, marketing, shipping, and software development to make Android work on the device. And then there's the licensing involved be it both hardware and software licensing. Do you really think that Broadcom or Qualcomm develop their chips out of the goodness of their hearts? Nope, they do it because of money.

Oh, do you want those security fixes? Do you want that new Android version? Again... money, this stuff doesn't grow on trees you know. People need to be paid to develop and package the updates.

Welcome to the real world people!!! We ain't living in Star Trek where people just do stuff because they feel like it, they do stuff because they're paid to do it. I can't believe I have to defend Capitalism.

 

[RealNeil]

You know it does cost money to not only do the research and development but the manufacturing, marketing, shipping, and software development to make Android work on the device. And then there's the licensing involved be it both hardware and software licensing. Do you really think that Broadcom or Qualcomm develop their chips out of the goodness of their hearts? Nope, they do it because of money.

Oh, do you want those security fixes? Do you want that new Android version? Again... money, this stuff doesn't grow on trees you know. People need to be paid to develop and package the updates.

Welcome to the real world people!!! We ain't living in Star Trek where people just do stuff because they feel like it, they do stuff because they're paid to do it. I can't believe I have to defend Capitalism.

Defending capitalism? What a crusader! I know everything that you said already, but I don't accept that we're not being ripped off by their process. Most of their phone technology has been developed over years of overcharging for it, yet they want more, more, and more than that. Sorry but I'm not playing that anymore. The last overpriced "smartphone " that I paid full price for got none of those OS updates that you speak of. It a giant Rip-off.

 

[trparky]

Most of their phone technology has been developed over years of overcharging for it, yet they want more, more, and more than that.

That may very well be true but how else do you think technology advances and gets better? The money you pay today funds tomorrow's technological advancements. Think about how much money it takes to build all of the advanced fabrication technologies that are used to build today's chips, all of that stuff was paid for with money from the last generation.

And as we have seen, getting things to be smaller and more power-efficient is taking a whole lot more effort than in the past. 20nm was easy, now that we're getting into the 7nm range it's going to take a whole lot more effort and maybe even a new substance to build new and faster chips as we are seeing that we're bumping up against the limitations of silicon itself. Again, this costs money.

Do you want better, faster, and power-efficient processors with more cores? Do you want better, faster, and more power-efficient GPUs? Better screens? Yep... this costs money to develop tomorrow's technology.

 

[RealNeil]

That may very well be true but how else do you think technology advances and gets better? The money you pay today funds tomorrow's technological advancements. Think about how much money it takes to build all of the advanced fabrication technologies that are used to build today's chips, all of that stuff was paid for with money from the last generation.

And as we have seen, getting things to be smaller and more power-efficient is taking a whole lot more effort than in the past. 20nm was easy, now that we're getting into the 7nm range it's going to take a whole lot more effort and maybe even a new substance to build new and faster chips as we are seeing that we're bumping up against the limitations of silicon itself. Again, this costs money.

Do you want better, faster, and power-efficient processors with more cores? Do you want better, faster, and more power-efficient GPUs? Better screens? Yep... this costs money to develop tomorrow's technology.

I agree that our spending today funds tomorrows research and development. I just believe that they are overcharging us for their work.
I think that it's directly tied to their Apple envy and the huge price premiums that Apple charges for their products. They saw Apple getting away with it for years and had to shoot the moon themselves. The fact that people are willing to pay inflated prices without a second thought only feeds the beast.
The money information is out there when you look at quarterly reports on profits for all of these entities. It's obscene.

~"Do you want better, faster, and power-efficient processors with more cores? Do you want better, faster, and more power-efficient GPUs? Better screens?"~
No, the cheap-*** LG phone that I just bought (never used) from a wholesaler for $50.00 US does everything that I need it to, for now. It does it far better than the Samsung Galaxy phone that it replaced.
When my wife retires in two years, we plan to buy a pair of flip-phones with no internet capabilities at all. Decluttering sounds good to us.

 

[Chidoro]

That may very well be true but how else do you think technology advances and gets better? The money you pay today funds tomorrow's technological advancements. Think about how much money it takes to build all of the advanced fabrication technologies that are used to build today's chips, all of that stuff was paid for with money from the last generation.

And as we have seen, getting things to be smaller and more power-efficient is taking a whole lot more effort than in the past. 20nm was easy, now that we're getting into the 7nm range it's going to take a whole lot more effort and maybe even a new substance to build new and faster chips as we are seeing that we're bumping up against the limitations of silicon itself. Again, this costs money.

Do you want better, faster, and power-efficient processors with more cores? Do you want better, faster, and more power-efficient GPUs? Better screens? Yep... this costs money to develop tomorrow's technology.

I agree that our spending today funds tomorrows research and development. I just believe that they are overcharging us for their work.
I think that it's directly tied to their Apple envy and the huge price premiums that Apple charges for their products. They saw Apple getting away with it for years and had to shoot the moon themselves. The fact that people are willing to pay inflated prices without a second thought only feeds the beast.
The money information is out there when you look at quarterly reports on profits for all of these entities. It's obscene.

~"Do you want better, faster, and power-efficient processors with more cores? Do you want better, faster, and more power-efficient GPUs? Better screens?"~
No, the cheap-*** LG phone that I just bought (never used) from a wholesaler for $50.00 US does everything that I need it to, for now. It does it far better than the Samsung Galaxy phone that it replaced.
When my wife retires in two years, we plan to buy a pair of flip-phones with no internet capabilities at all. Decluttering sounds good to us.

Being that most cell phone makers are scraping by, I’m not sure you completely understand why they are priced the way they are. You think they are too expensive, well you get get a cheaper one that data harvests you to hell and back.

Apple is different, but then they support their phones for 5-6 years so the same phone can be passed down or resold without issue. As a ‘cost of ownership ‘ its not a bad proposition. To each their own.