Laptops will soon join the 5G party

It’s not just phones and Wi-Fi hubs, laptops are also set to join the 5G party promising super speeds and unprecedented connectivity.

Ahead of the Computex tech conference in Taiwan this week, chipmaker Qualcomm and computer giant Lenovo unveiled the first 5G-enabled laptop computer.

If you have a need for speed, 5G laptops might be the thing you’re looking for.

The new generation of wireless mobile technology is here, and as Australian telcos begin switching on their new networks, which promise hyper speeds and dramatically reduced latency, 5G consumer devices are also beginning to arrive.

But it’s not just phones and Wi-Fi hubs. Laptops are also set to join the party.

Ahead of the Computex tech conference in Taiwan this week, chipmaker Qualcomm and computer giant Lenovo unveiled the first 5G-enabled laptop computer.

Dubbed Project Limitless, the two companies describe the PC as “the world’s first 7nm platform purpose-built for PCs that offers 5G connectivity”.

You won’t be able to get your hands on one until at least next year.

“The transition from 3G to 4G LTE has already transformed how people use their smartphones; likewise Lenovo sees huge growth potential of 5G by enabling smarter, modern computing through the promise of faster, always-connected PCs,” Lenovo said in a statement.

With the release of Samsung’s first 5G phone today, eager customers on Telstra’s network in major cities can get their first taste of 5G.

But this Lenovo laptop won’t hit our shores anytime soon. Project Limitless is scheduled for release sometime in 2020, which is indicative of how far out the technology is from reaching mainstream consumers around the world.

But thanks to the 5G connectivity and the new Wi-Fi 10 standard, the Lenovo laptop does promise to be much faster at processing and transferring data. According to Lenovo exec Johnson Jia, 5G laptops will provide “faster file transfers and streaming in 4K, 8K and even AR/VR; faster and higher quality video chats on-the-go; even faster screen refreshes for mobile gaming”.

The laptop relies on the Snapdragon X55 5G modem, which has download speeds of up to 2.5 Gbps.

Thanks to its 7nm architecture, the Snapdragon 8cx is also supposed to be much more power efficient, and Lenovo promises a battery that lasts days before charge.