The sale of 5G smartphones will reach nearly 800 million units in 2023, according to the latest Canalys report.

5G smartphone sales will be accounting for 51.4 percent of smartphone shipments, passing 4G smartphones five years after 5G’s global commercial launch.

Vendors will be shipping 54 million 5G smartphones in Latin America, 54 million in Middle East and Africa, 123 million in Europe, 135 million in Asia Pacific, 145 million in North America and 263 million in Greater China in 2023.

Vendor shipment of 5G smartphones will reach 13 million in 2019, 164 million in 2020, 393 million in 2021 and 582 million in 2022.

The CAGR for 5G smartphone between 2019 and 2023 will be 179.9 percent, while vendors will ship nearly 1.9 billion devices to market by the end of 2023.

Greater China will account for 34 percent of 5G smartphone shipments in 2023, followed by North America at 18.8 percent and Asia Pacific at 17.4 percent.

The role of the Chinese government and the well-orchestrated joint investments of operators and equipment suppliers were critical to this earlier commercial launch, said Nicole Peng, vice president of Mobility at Canalys.

17.5 percent of smartphones shipped in China will be 5G-capable 2020, and 62.7 percent in 2023, Canalys forecasts.

Mass-market adoption of 5G smartphones does not mean a successful 5G deployment. Full 5G deployment will take much longer, and be more complex in order to realize the benefits of 5G beyond eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband).

Chinese operators’ investments in 5G will reach $5 billion this year. China-based telecoms will be deploying around 70,000 to 90,000 5G base stations across the country. China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom have received 5G licenses recently.

“China Mobile has the broadest 5G smartphone portfolio at launch. All three operators will be more aggressive with promotions to target 5G early adopters and high-value customers later this year,” Canalys Analyst Mo Jia said.

Local brands such as Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi and ZTE are 5G smartphone launch partners for the three operators.