With 5G looming, many might be considering updating their devices to take advantage of the faster connectivity. If all you want is 5G connectivity, HTC has unveiled the HTC 5G Hub, a new device that will bring these faster speeds to all your devices via Wi-Fi.
HTC says that this is the first dedicated 5G mobile smart hub on the market and it can share a 5G connection with up to 20 devices via its hot spot feature. The 5G Hub has a 5-inch touchscreen with HD resolution on the front that offers “high-quality visuals.” HTC says that the device can replace a Wi-Fi router and eliminates unnecessary cables with an easy plug-and-play setup.
HTC will also enable, in the future, the ability to stream VR content directly to a VIVE headset with no PC needed via the 5G Mobile Smart Hub.
The 5G Hub supports enough speed for mobile gaming and 4K video streaming to second screens. The device also supports voice command and remote-control features making it easy to manage entertainment and productivity needs.
HTC uses the same Snapdragon 855 SoC inside that new flagship smartphones us, like the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G. The modem inside is the familiar Snapdragon X50.
The operating system for the Hub is Android 9 Pie allowing the download of native Android and PC games on the screen of the device. The Wi-Fi hardware inside the HTC 5G Hub supports 802.11ad with multi-gigabit speeds and wire equivalent latencies.
A Qualcomm 2×2 Wi-Fi 6-ready chipset provides the wireless connectivity. Power for the hub is via a 7,660 mAh internal battery, and the device does support VPNs.
Businesses can connect up to 20 devices safely and securely on a high-speed encrypted network or configure for a corporate VPN. As businesses grow, the 5G network is also easily scalable via built-in Gigabit ethernet port.
“HTC is proud to bring to market the world’s first 5G mobile smart hub,” said Cher Wang, Chairwoman and CEO of HTC.
“5G will be the game-changer for VR and AR, and the new HTC 5G Hub will seamlessly deliver the great bandwidth of 5G to our devices, driving our vision of Vive Reality—a boundless, immersive environment where human experiences will come to the forefront.”
Carriers across the globe will offer the HTC 5G Hub—including Sprint, Telstra, and recently added European carriers: EE (UK), Three UK, Deutsche Telekom (Germany), Sunrise (Switzerland), and Elisa (Finland).
Marc Allera, CEO of BT Group’s (EE) Consumer division, said,
“Our 5G network will give EE customers even faster, more reliable connections where they need it most. Whether online gaming on the move, downloading or streaming 4K content, or simply keeping a fast connection in the busiest areas, EE customers with HTC’s new 5G Mobile Smart Hub will be able to connect any of their Wi-Fi enabled devices to our 5G network for the best-connected experience.”
Dave Dyson, CEO at Three UK, said,
“HTC has a tradition of leading the way with new technologies. 5G is going to bring unimaginable possibilities to connect people to people, people to things and things to things. As a connectivity provider we are at the heart of all of it and bringing this 5G hub to the UK, will enable our customers to make the most of our leading 5G network alongside all the capabilities of this innovative device.”
There’s currently no word as to how much the HTC 5G Hub will cost, but we know that it’s launching at some point in Q2 of this year.
