Even though the technology is yet to go mainstream, more and more leading OEMs are jumping on the still-nascent 5G train. And from the looks of it, Oppo’s sub-brand Realme doesn’t want to be left out. Courtesy of Weibo, a leaked teaser, confirms that Realme is gearing up to launch its first 5G-enabled smartphone, dubbed, Realme X50 5G.
The promo poster shows a pill-style punch-hole cutout housing the X50’s twin cameras (which also makes it the first Realme to feature a punch-hole design). As the CMO Xu Qi Chase explains, for more robust connectivity on the go, the X50 5G will offer support for both standalone and non-standalone 5G networks.
He didn’t share the SoC details, so it remains to be seen whether or not the Realme X50 will run on a Snapdragon or a MediaTek chipset. If the X50 is indeed Realme’s next true flagship, it possible that you’ll get a Snapdragon 865 chipset (whose predecessor powers Realme X2 Pro). Conversely, if it is simply another upper-mid-range device, you might be looking at a MediaTek SoC with a 5G modem baked into it. Other rumors suggest that the Realme X50 Pro will have a Snapdragon 735 chip. Furthermore, the phone might debut with an ‘X50 Pro’ variant that will be powered by an SD-865 processor.
At any rate, the Snapdragon 865 chipset is scheduled for release on December 3, 2019, and even though it remains to be officially confirmed, Realme X50’s launch is likely to follow this release. Said another way, the X50 5G might hit the store shelves before 2019 ends.
Note that this is pure conjecture since official details are thin on the ground right now. But coming back to Xu Qi Chase’s comments, the CMO of the Chinese arm further explained the somewhat odd branding leap from X2 to X50. As per Xu Qi Chase, the X in X50 stands for Realme’s flagship series, 5 for 5G, and 0 for ‘new beginnings.’