Ericsson, MediaTek and Oppo combined to successfully test voice and video calls using Voice over New Radio (VoNR) architecture, moving the companies closer to provisioning the full range of mobile services over standalone (SA) 5G.
Their announcement comes 11 months after Huawei announced it had completed the first VoNR call on its own end-to-end kit. At CES2020, Qualcomm and ZTE also claimed to have made the first call using the architecture.
The latest trial of the technology was conducted at Ericsson’s facility in Stockholm, using a modified commercial Oppo smartphone containing MediaTek SoC technology connected to a trial Ericsson SA 5G network.
In a statement, Oppo said compared to commercially-available voice services, VoNR provided significantly lower latency, and improved sound and picture quality for users. The device manufacturer added it aimed to provide a more complete 5G experience to early adopters of SA networks.
Ericsson in December 2019 revealed it completed interoperability tests for VoNR calls together with MediaTek.
Head of product line 5G RAN at Ericsson Hannes Ekstrom said the latest development showed “that beyond the high-speed capabilities delivered by 5G, we are ready to deliver on the voice and video calls that will remain important to consumers”.
“This achievement confirms our commitment to enabling service providers to offer a superior end-to-end 5G experience.”
TCL brings 5G in-house in 10-series smartphones
TCL Communication pitched its first own-brand 5G smartphone at the mid-tier of the market, with a sub-€400(US$434.80) price tag and a host of leading-edge specifications, as it also detailed a range of wearables and home devices.
Unveiled at CES 2020, the vendor gave its TCL 10-series its “official” debut 6 April. Heading the trio of devices is the TCL 10 5G, offering a 6.53-inch LCD display; quad camera arrangement with 64MP main, 8MP ultra-wide, 5MP macro and 2MP depth lenses; 16MP front camera; 4500 mAh battery; a rear fingerprint sensor and 128GB of internal storage.
It runs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765 processor and will be available in “select regions” later this year priced €399.
The TCL 10 Pro comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 675 processor, but features a more advanced curved 6.47-inch AMOLED display, with an in-screen fingerprint sensor and a 24MP selfie camera. A 64MP main and 16MP module are fitted alongside the same macro and low-light lenses, with battery and storage unchanged from the 5G model.
It is due this quarter in Europe, North America, Australia and the UK for €449.
The TCL 10L runs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 665 chipset and comes with a 6.53-inch LCD display; 16MP front camera; 64GB storage and smaller 4000mAh battery. Four rear cameras offer 48MP main, 8MP super wide, and 2MP macro and depth lenses.
Initially available in the same markets, it is priced €249.
The company also debuted a new 5G router, a 4G smartwatch for children and wireless earbuds which can monitor heart rate. TCL Communication said its Linkhub 5G CPE router uses Qualcomm’s X55 chipset, offering mobile data rates up to 2.8Gb/s and 3.6Gb/s on Wi-Fi 6. It is due in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and the US from July for €499. –Mobile World Live
