By the end of February 2020, almost all major Android smartphone providers have launched their 5G devices. However, most of the devices announced so far are still solidly in the 3000+ RMB (400+ USD) range, with Redmi K30 from Xiaomi the only exception.

The biggest obstacle for a lower-priced 5G phone is, of course, the extra cost from 5G baseband and RF system. Only a handful of companies in the world can design a working 5G baseband processor, and not surprisingly they all chose to start with the highest-end flagship solutions which carry a price tag as high as $100+.

For the 5G phones to enter the mainstream, the prices for the 5G baseband and the phone itself have to come down. Luckily we are seeing more mid-range baseband solutions in the pipeline for later this year from both Qualcomm and MediaTek; Huawei is expected to launch their own design of mid-range Kirin 820 soon; and UniSoC has just announced their first 5G SoC T7520, although we don’t know the detail of this product, we highly suspect it's a low to mid-end solution given UniSoC's position in the market.

With the introduction of these more cost-effective solutions, we expect 5G smartphone price to quickly drop to 2000 RMB (less than 300 USD) range in the next 3-6 months, and likely down to 1500 RMB (200+ USD) range by the end of the year in China.