Sprint Pre-Orders Beginning Friday for First 5G Smartphone, Home Hub From LG, HTC

Sprint’s first two 5G devices -- the LG V50 ThinQ 5G and HTC 5G Hub -- launch in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Kansas City May 31, with pre-orders beginning Friday, said the carrier Thursday. The devices will roll out to Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Washington in the next few weeks. Limited-time pricing for the LG V50 is $24 per month, with $0 down -- half off -- on a Sprint Flex lease. The HTC 5G Hub, advertised at half off for $12.50 a month over 24 months, includes 100 GB of high-speed data on a $60-per-month plan. On a news-media tour in New York last week, a company spokesperson told us at launch, Sprint plans to cover about 1,000 square miles initially in its 5G footprint. Commenting on the different flavors of 5G carriers have promoted, the spokeswoman said, “We’re launching the real 5G, not fake 5G.” Data speeds will improve by 100 times, she said, with “much improved latency times” enabling vehicle-to-vehicle communication for autonomous driving, remote surgery and mobile gaming. The HTC hub, a Sprint exclusive at launch, is targeted to homes and small businesses, and can enable non-5G devices such as laptops, tablets, phones and TVs to “experience the speed of 5G,” delivering “smooth” 4K video streaming, “virtually buffer-free” gaming, and advanced 4G LTE hotspot connectivity for up to 20 users. In a home, the compact Hub could display a recipe in the kitchen while simultaneously powering a laptop, the spokeswoman said. As an entertainment device -- equipped with a gigabit Ethernet port, 7,660mAh battery, Qualcomm Snapdragon 855-powered Hub and X50 5G modem -- the Hub can replace a Wi-Fi router and eliminate unnecessary cables, said Sprint. It’s capable of delivering up to 60 frames per second 4K video on compatible TVs and supports Android and PC games. Sprint’s “robust” Unlimited Premium data plan, designed to get the most from mobile 5G, includes unlimited data, talk and text nationwide; Hulu, Amazon Prime, Twitch Prime, Tidal HiFi, and 100GB LTE mobile hotspot services. The $80-per-month service, for each line, carries a $150 value. A three-month subscription to the Hatch Premium cloud gaming service is included on Sprint 5G phones, offering unlimited on-demand access to more than 100 Hatch Original mobile games. It enables social gaming with competitive leaderboards in shared game sessions, voice chat, live tournaments and the ability to connect with friends.