PC chip Vendor Intel announced yesterday that it’s working on Intel® XMM™ 8000 series commercial 5G modems which will usher in the first high-performing 5G-connected PCs in the market in the second half of 2019. The vendor will be showing off some model 5G-connected detachable 2-in-1 PCs powered by 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 processors at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. 5G is the next generation mobile data network succeeding 4G LTE. Already South Korea has launched 5G for the first time in the history at the 2018 Winter Olympics, PyeongChang while AT&T and Verizon have plans to roll out 5G networks by close of the year. Related post: Windows 10 on ARM promises over 20 hours and Always Connected PCs
Intel also hopes to showcase a thin PC with 802.11ax Wi-Fi as well as eSIMs. Meanwhile Qualcomm is said to be working with 18 smartphone vendors to put 5G modems on their phones by 2019. Also in December last year, Qualcomm announced “Always-on” Windows 10 ARM PCs with built-in 4G LTE modem in partnership with Microsoft, Acer and HP. So it seems future laptops will come with mobile connectivity akin to what your smartphone has. Related post: How laptop vendors are wrong about not including 4G LTE in your laptop Image: PCMag.com
