INTERVIEW: The 5G smartphone Sprint is creating in collaboration with LG Electronics is going to look like no other handset on the market, Mishka Dehghan, VP of 5G development at Sprint Business (pictured), claimed.

“What’s really remarkable about the LG device that you’ll see is it’s going to be immediately recognisable,” she told Mobile World Live, adding “everybody around you will know it’s a 5G device.”

Dehghan added the phone will still be a “beautiful, shiny object” but its appearance will be “distinct” from a sea of similar-looking devices. The handset will launch in step with the rollout of Sprint’s mobile 5G service in a handful of markets in the first half of 2019, she said.

Though Sprint rival Verizon announced plans to begin offering fixed wireless access 5G service in October, Dehghan emphasised the importance of mobility to enable new applications.

“I would argue that to power and enable a lot of the use cases that have been talked about tremendously here and in previous months, you need the flexibility that the mobile 5G is going to provide.”

On the consumer side, she noted Sprint plans to “focus heavily on the gaming industry”, but will also develop unique IoT capabilities for B2B applications.

Access the full interview here.