Sprint and LG will release a 5G smartphone in the first half of 2019

Sprint has announced that it will work with LG to release a 5G smartphone for Sprint’s nascent next-gen network sometime in the first half of 2019.

There are no concrete details for the device other than the vague release date and the fact that LG will be making it. But since the company plans to launch its 5G network (at least in part) in 2019, it makes sense that it would put deals in place for the devices that will support it when it rolls out.

Sprint’s press release highlights its use of Massive MIMO technology as part of the 5G strategy that the new, unnamed LG phone will support. It’s something that the company is already building out in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC as a precursor to 5G. There’s no mention of other technologies, like mmWave frequencies, although the technology does exist to build support for that into a smartphone, too.

Sprint isn’t the only network starting to lay the groundwork for 5G, either. Motorola has already promised a 5G Moto Mod for the Moto Z3 that will support Verizon’s next-gen network sometime in 2019 as well.