Samsung, Verizon will release 5G smartphone in early 2019

The race to 5G is ramping up.

Samsung and Verizon announced on Monday that the two companies are partnering to bring one of the first 5G smartphones to the market. While no specific release date was mentioned, the two companies are saying its 5G phone will hit stores in the first half of 2019.

A concept device of the new 5G phone from Samsung and Verizon will be unveiled later this week at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Technology Summit. Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon Mobile Platform, including its new mobile processor, will power the smartphone.

Earlier this summer, Motorola was first to announce a 5G-compatible phone on Verizon’s 5G network. The , which is currently available for purchase, will be upgradable via an attachable add-on that will be released in early 2019.

is expected to be a major shift in the way people connect to and use the internet. It’s promised to be extremely fast and will offer downloads and uploads at speeds hundreds of times faster than 4G LTE. It will also expand data capacity and bandwidth, boost coverage and improve upon network reliability.

Carriers and smartphone manufacturers alike have been racing to be the firsts to offer 5G. , Sprint, and have all been in the process of rolling out its 5G networks. However, Verizon beat them all to the market when it launched in a limited availability run in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Houston, and Indianapolis.

Verizon being the first to announce a partnership with Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, certainly keeps them one step ahead of its competitors in the race to 5G.