HTC 5G Hub Launched at MWC 2019; Doubles as 5G Hotspot, Battery Pack, and Content Streaming Device

HTC has launched a new device at MWC 2019 that doubles as a 5G hotspot, content streaming hub as well as a battery pack for charging smartphones. HTC's new offering – the HTC 5G Hub – is a mobile smart hub powered by the Snapdragon 855 SoC that acts as 5G hotspot for use at home and in office space. The device comes equipped with a 7,660mAh battery that allows it to be used as a charging hub for external gadgets like smartphones and can also be used for content streaming from platforms such as Netflix.

The HTC 5G Hub packs a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display and is powered by the Snapdragon 855 SoC paired with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of inbuilt storage that can further be expanded via a microSD card (up to 512GB). The device has a USB Type-C Gen 3.1 port with DisplayPort support and also comes equipped with a Gigabit Ethernet port. It packs a 7,660mAh battery and has a dual speaker setup. Connectivity is handled by Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ad, while a Nano-SIM slot is there for 4G and 5G connectivity.

The HTC 5G Hub is touted to be a plug-and-play entertainment hub and a home media centre that can be used to stream videos from apps like Netflix and can also be connected to a TV. Support for voice commands is also on the table. HTC claims that the device is ideal for gaming, allowing users to stream content at up to 4K resolution and 60fps frame rate. On the software side, the HTC 5G Hub runs Android 9 Pie.

The HTC offering can also be used for office work as it allows up to 20 people to connect to a single network and also facilitates the addition of a corporate VPN layer. The company has also revealed that in the foreseeable future, the HTC 5G Hub will allow users to wirelessly stream VR content from the cloud to their Vive VR headset. The Taiwanese company is yet to reveal the price of the HTC 5G Hub, which is expected to become available in Q2 2019 in the US, Australia and certain European nations, with Sprint, Telstra, Three UK, Deutsche Telekom, Sunrise, and Elisa.