Motorola Likely to Launch the First 5G Phone in China this Month

Motorola confirmed on its Weibo account on August 6 that it will host a new product launch in Wuhan in the middle of August, likely to launch the first 5G module in China.

Liu Jun, executive vice president of Lenovo which acquired Motorola in 2014 and president of the China region, said over the weekend that Motorola will launch the new product of Moto Z3 on August 16, making it the first smartphone to with a 5G module to support 5G networks on the market.

Moto Z3
Moto Z3. Image Source: Motorola website.

Moto Z3 is equipped with a 6-inch 18:9 Super AMOLED 2K resolution screen and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip. With 4GB RAM + 64GB flash memory, the phone runs on Android 8.1 and will update to the newest Android 9.0 once it’s officially released. Its battery capacity is 3000mAh.

On the camera side, the Moto Z3 is equipped with a dual-lens 12 megapixel camera and a front 8 megapixel camera. It is also one of the thinnest smartphones around, at just 6.75mm.

Moto Z3.
Moto Z3. Image Source: Motorola website.

On August 2, Motorola released the Moto Z3 in Chicago, U.S. The U.S. version of Moto Z3 only supports mobile operator Verizon and also uses a 5G module, or 5G moto mod, to support 5G networks. The module has Qualcomm’s X50 modem and battery capacity of 2000mAh. The U.S. version will be sold on Verizon starting August 16.

“I am with 5” in Motorola event poster.
“I am with 5” in Motorola event poster. Image Source: Motorola weibo.

On its Chinese microblogging account, Motorola posted a poster with with the slogan “Hello, Moto,”, a familiar motto to first generation cellphone users in China. Also written on the poster is “I am with 5”, a possible indication that Motorola will be the first to release a 5G module phone in China.