Digital Indian Gov

More than a dozen global smartphone and PC OEMs have tied up with Qualcomm to incorporate the Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem on to their mobile devices. Qualcomm has said the first smartphones featuring its X50 5G NR modem will hit the market in 2019, with Chinese brand Vivo promising such a handset next year.
Major mobile phone OEMs joining hands with Qualcomm to incorporate the 5G modem in their future smartphones include the likes of Xiaomi, Nokia brand licensee HMD Global, Sony, LG, HTC, Oppo, and ZTE. Other OEMs that have partnered with Qualcomm are Fujitsu, Inseego/ Novatel Wireless, NetComm Wireless, Netgear, Sharp, Sierra Wireless, Telit, Wingtech, and WNC.
Devices by these OEMs will be built around the sub-6GHz and millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum bands starting next year. Apart from smartphones, the new Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem will be available on Always Connected PCs, Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) - including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Extended Reality (XR) - and Mobile Broadband. Qualcomm claims this technology will offer faster browsing, faster downloads, better streaming, and instant cloud access on phones.
The modem will enable high speed and low latency for Always Connected PCs, and ultra-low latency for HMDs. "As evidenced by our work with these distinguished OEMs from around the globe and as we demonstrated in 3G and 4G LTE, Qualcomm Technologies is utilizing our deep expertise and technology leadership to support the successful launch of 5G NR, driving innovation in the mobile ecosystem," said Alex Katouzian, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Mobile, Qualcomm Technologies.
Separately, Qualcomm has also partnered with several wireless network operators in the above mentioned sub-6GHz and millimetre wave (mmWave) bands. These include AT&T, British Telecom, Sprint, China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom, NTT DOCOMO, Orange, Verizon, Telstra, Singtel among others.
The upcoming trials will combine Qualcomm's 5G platform and smartphone reference design with an aim to commercialise compliant 5G products later this year. To further showcase this, planned demonstrations will be held at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The Qualcomm booth is expected to have Snapdragon X50 modems reaching speeds of "several gigabits per second." A HTC handset with 5G support, said to be the U12, was recently showcased at an industry event in Taiwan. The handset was shown delivering download speeds of 809.58Mbps.

Vivo has been known to push the boundaries when it comes to smartphone internals. Recent leaks suggest that the company's upcoming flagship phone might be powered by 10GB RAM, which, if true, will be the most ever seen on a smartphone.
Apart from that, the Vivo Xplay7 is also expected to feature a 4K OLED display, Snapdragon 845 SoC, up to 512GB storage, and an under-display fingerprint sensor. As we mentioned, a couple of leaks have surfaced on Weibo detailing specifications of Vivo's supposed upcoming Xplay7. The BBK-owned Chinese phone maker had launched its predecessor, the Vivo Xplay6, back in 2016. If these early reports are deemed to be true, we are looking at one of the best smartphones of 2018 - purely in terms of specifications.
The Vivo X20 Plus UD recently became the first smartphone to launch with an under-display fingerprint sensor. According to the images leaked online, the Xplay7 might also be secured with the Synaptics-powered fingerprint recognition technology.
With a Snapdragon 845 SoC expected, it will be Vivo's only phone since the Xplay6 to sport a Qualcomm flagship SoC. Talking about the cameras, the leaks reveal a dual rear camera setup with 4X optical zoom. The phone is rumoured to sport a 4K OLED display with a 92.9 percent screen-to-body ratio. It is expected to arrive in two storage variants - 256GB and 512GB - coupled with 10GB of RAM.
While Android OEMs have been pushing the barrier for the past few years, this might be the first instance when a smartphone comes with RAM capacity in double digits. There is currently no update on the pricing and availability but we expect it to be available in the coming weeks at a starting price of around $500 (roughly Rs. 31,800).

2017 witnessed the launch of various smartphones which excelled both in terms of design and innovation. The year 2018 is expected to be no different. Smartphone makers are expected to unveil some of their best smartphones with high-end features. So, here's over to some of the big-ticket launches scheduled for 2018.
1. Apple iPhone 2018 Like always, Apple will launch its latest generation of iPhone in September this year. The iPhone 2018 (not the official name of the device) is expected to sport a 6.1-inch display and 4GB RAM. Like the iPhone X, the smartphone will also come with a OLED display.
2. Samsung Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy X Samsung has started working on the successor of its most-expensive smartphone Galaxy Note 8. Not much information about the smartphone is available right now, but as per rumours Samsung is working on enchaining the functionality of S Pen for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. Along with this, it is also expected that the South Korean tech giant will also launch its foldable smartphone Galaxy X, which it showcased at CES 2018. The smartphone is likely to sport 7.3-inch foldable display and it be the part of Note series of the company.
3. OnePlus 6 Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus is all set to launch its next generation flagship smartphone. Likely to be called OnePlus 6, the smartphone will be launched in the second quarter of 2018 as confirmed by the company. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau also confirmed that the smartphone will be powered by Qualcomm’s flagship processor Snapdragon 845.
4. Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ Samsung also confirmed that it will be launching its flagship smartphones for 2018 -- Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ -- at the Mobile World Congress 2018 next month. The smartphones will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and are expected come with a single rear camera just like their predecessor Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. As per rumours, the Galaxy S9 is said to sport a 5.7-inch display and Galaxy S9+ is expected to come with a 6.2-inch display. It is expected to come with Bixby virtual assistant and rear mounted fingerprint sensor.
5. Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 Xiaomi will launch the successor of its most expensive smartphone Mi Mix 2 this year. The company is said to be working on Mi Mix 3 and this time the smartphone is expected to sport a bigger battery along with the bezel-less display. The handset is likely to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage.
6. Moto G6 Like most other brands, Motorola also unveils smartphones at MWC. This year the company is expected to launch its Moto G6 device. Successor to the last year launched Moto G5, the device is will come in the budget segment and will run Android 8.0 Oreo operating system. It is also expected that the smartphone will sport a dual rear camera setup. The company is expected to launch the device in March this year in India.
7. Sony Xperia XZ Pro Sony Xperia XZ Pro is the top-end smartphone from Sony which will launch this year. As per speculations, this will be the first Sony smartphone to ditch the 3.5mm audio jack. The device is expected to come with a USB Type C port which will be used for both charging and listening to music. The device is also expected to feature a full screen display with 18:9 aspect ratio and 4K resolution. The smartphone is also said to come with a dual rear camera setup.
8. Nokia 9 HMD-Global is gearing up for the launch of its next high-end smartphone, Nokia 9. As per rumours, the smartphone is expected to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and is said to come with a 5.30-inch full screen display with 18:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone is expected to run Android 8.0 Oreo operating system.
9. LG G7 Every year LG launches its flagship smartphone at MWC, this year also it is expected that the company will launch the G7 at MWC 2018. The smartphone is expected to launch in India in April this year. The handset is expected to sport a Full Vision display like the LG G6 and is expected to run Android 8.0 Oreo operating system.
10. Xiaomi Mi 7 Xiaomi Mi 7 is the successor of the Mi 6 smartphone launched year. However, the company never launched the Mi 6 in India due to some price constraints but it is expected to bring Mi 7 to the country. The company will first unveil the device at MWC 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. The device is said to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. As per the rumoured specifications, the Mi 7 is expected to feature a full screen display with 18:9 aspect ratio and facial recognition. The handset will reportedly offer dual 16MP rear cameras with one of them having f/1.7 aperture.
12. Huawei P20 An online leak recently confirmed that Huawei will launch its flagship smartphone P20 at MWC 2018 next month. The leak also revealed that the company will be incorporating triple camera in the smartphone. The triple camera placed on the rear panel is said to offer 40MP sensor with 5X hybrid zoom. The device is expected to be powered by the company’s own Kirin 970 chipset and might come with facial recognition feature.
11. Asus Zenfone 5 Asus launched the Zenfone 4 series in the second half of 2017 and it is expected that the company will launch the Zenfone 5 series this year. Not much information about the smartphone series is available right now.
12. Vivo X20 Plus UD Chinese smartphone maker Vivo recently showcased in-display fingerprint sensor technology earlier this month at CES 2018. The company has now launched the Vivo X20 Plus UD smartphone in China and it is soon expected to come to India as well. The Vivo X20 Plus UD comes with Synaptics Clear ID 9500 in-screen fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor is placed between the mainboard and the OLED display. It runs Android 7.1 Nougat operating system and comes 6.43-inch full HD+ display. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor paired with 4GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.