BEIJING, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese tech firm Vivo is stepping up the development of 5G handsets to consolidate its early market lead by rolling out its third smartphone series capable of operating on the superfast wireless network.
Vivo unveiled its flagship 5G handset X30 5G and X30 Pro 5G Monday, which support both standalone and non-standalone 5G networks and will go into mass production. The smartphone series boasts a telephoto periscope lens and is powered by the Exynos 980 processor, a product jointly developed by Vivo and Samsung.
Priced from 3,298 yuan (about 471 U.S. dollars), the X30 series has expanded the company's 5G handset portfolio covering different price ranges.
Chinese smartphone brands have accelerated investment in and development of 5G handsets since China greenlighted commercial use of 5G technology in June.
The country's 5G smartphone shipments reached 8.355 million sets in the past 11 months, with 24 new phones rolled out during this period, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed.
Vivo said it had applied for more than 2,000 5G invention patents. The Dongguan-based firm's 5G smartphone shipments accounted for over half of the 5G smartphone market in China in the third quarter of this year, according to market research company International Data Corporation.
