Between Samsung at its Unpacked event last week and LG and Huawei at Mobile World Congress (MWC), the past week-and-a-half has been all about 5G (and, to a lesser extent, foldable display smartphones).
Like OnePlus, Sony showed off a prototype 5G device at MWC — though this one show attendees could touch. Pocket-lint spotted it when it visited the show floor.
Like the company’s recently announced Xperia 1 handset, the prototype phone features a tall, 21:9 display. It also prominently featured Snapdragon 855 branding as it was on display at the Qualcomm booth.
According to Adam Marsh, the company spokesperson Pocket-lint spoke to about the prototype, internally Sony refers to the device as “AG-1.”
Marsh was was quick to point out that AG-1 was not representative of a commercial device Sony planned to release. Instead, it’s something the company has been using to trial 5G connectivity with select carriers partners, as well as to experiment with antenna design.
He added that while Sony plans to release a 5G sometime soon, the company doesn’t believe the technology is ready for consumer use just yet.
“At the moment, from a rollout point of view, 5G just isn’t there. In 4G, you can still [get] more speed in more places than 5G, at the moment,” said Marsh.
“We are still massively involved in 5G, just not launching anything commercially just yet. You can see we have a product so in the near future.”
Pocket-lint speculates Sony may reveal a consumer-facing version of the AG-1 as soon as IFA Berlin in September.
Source: Pocket-lint
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