China Threatens Korea in 5G, 8K TV
Chinese companies are rapidly increasing their presence in the 8K TV and 5G smartphone markets. With the U.S.-China trade war going on, they are concentrating on European markets.
This year’s IFA, the largest consumer electronics show in Europe, kicked off in Berlin on Sept. 6. There, Chinese smartphone, TV and IT device manufacturers are showcasing their cutting-edge products, threatening their South Korean counterparts such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
TCL, Skyworth, Hisense and Konka came up with 8K TVs. Especially, TCL is exhibiting seven different 8K TVs, including those using artificial intelligence technology and supporting 5G services.
Skyworth’s 8K TV exhibits consist of 120-inch, 88-inch and 75-inch and Hisense unveiled two 8K TVs. Konka came up with 8K wallpaper TVs similar in form to LG Electronics’. The world’s first 8K TV was unveiled by Samsung Electronics at last year’s IFA and the Chinese companies are rapidly catching up with it in just one year.
Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO Richard Yu, in the meantime, unveiled the Kirin 990 chipset for 5G smartphones during his opening ceremony speech on Sep. 6. The integrated chipset is scheduled to be applied to Huawei’s flagship Mate 30, which will be released in Munich on Sep. 19, and then the chipset will become the world’s first commercial 5G system-on-chip.
“Both Qualcomm Snapdragon and Samsung Exynos are characterized by using a 4G SoC and a 5G modem at the same time,” he said at the speech, adding, “Although Samsung Electronics unveiled its 5G chip days ago, nobody knows when it will be applied to smartphones.” Samsung Electronics unveiled its first integrated 5G chipset Exynos 980 on Sep. 4 and said that mass production would start within this year.
Chinese smartphone manufacturers are exhibiting a series of 5G handsets, too. For example, Xiaomi is displaying Mi Mix 3 5G, which was exhibited at MWC 2019 in Barcelona in February. Hisense is displaying its 5G phones scheduled to be launched next year and Lenovo Motorola came up with Moto Z4, which requires a separate 5G module. Both the product and its predecessor Moto Z3, which was launched in the United States in the first quarter of this year, can be used as a 5G smartphone when a module is inserted.