Xiaomi to Launch Snapdragon 720G Phone in India With NavIC Support, 5G Phones Coming as Well

Xiaomi on Tuesday announced that it will soon launch phones powered by Qualcomm’s new 5G mobile platforms in India. The Xiaomi executive confirmed that Xiaomi will release 5G phones powered by the Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765G chips. At Qualcomm’s event in the national capital, Xiaomi India chief Manu Kumar Jain took to the stage and also revealed that the company will soon launch a Xiaomi phone powered by the freshly announced Snapdragon 720G chipset and NavIC support in India.

Jain shared via a tweet that Xiaomi plans to launch phones powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 720G chipset in India. Xiaomi’s upcoming Snapdragon 720G phone in India will also offer NavIC support. Earlier this year, Xiaomi was said to be in advanced talks with ISRO over support for NavIC navigation system on its phones. And since the Snapdragon 720G comes with NavIC support, the upcoming Xiaomi phone will be able to take advantage of the indigenously developed navigation system.

To recall, NavIC is the operational name of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). As for its benefits, ISRO says IRNSS was developed for terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking, and fleet management and integration with mobile phones. It is said to provide a position accuracy of 20 metres (or less) in primary service areas, and will provide Standard Positioning Service (SPS) and Restricted Service (RS).

The Xiaomi executive also mentioned in his tweet that the company will be among the first brands to launch Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765G phones, but details about their arrival in India are not known. Both the aforementioned chips offer 5G support, with the Snapdragon 765G packing an integrated 5G modem. Xiaomi has already confirmed that the upcoming Mi 10 flagship phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 865 SoC and it is tipped to debut in Q1 2020. As for the new Snapdragon 720G SoC, it is a 4G-only mobile platform and brings Wi-Fi 6, Dual-Frequency (L1 and L5) GNSS, and NavIC support to the table.