Smartphone maker Huawei is set to enter TV space with something of a world first, Nikkei Asian Review reports-- specifically a 5G-enabled TV complete with a high-end 8K resolution panel.

According to unnamed "sources familiar with the plan," the TV will allow users to download data-heavy content such as 360-degree video and virtual reality programs. Such a TV would not need for fibre optics or cable boxes, and could possibly even act as a router hub for all other devices in the home. Meanwhile the 8K display offers 16x the pixels of a standard HD TV.

The TV is supposedly the result of a company desire to create a "complete" CE ecosystem, even if analysts doubt the strength of the Huawei brand. That said, Huawei is currently going from strength to strength (even beating Apple to 2nd place in the Q1 2019 smartphone rankings, at least according to IDC), and plans to get ahead in the 5G race with appropriately capable base stations, home-use routers and even a foldable phone.

Technically Huawei is not a new face in the TV industry-- its chip arm, Hisilicon Technologies, is the 2nd largest provider of TV chipsets following MediaTek, with clients including Sharp, Hisense, Skyworth and Changhong. Nikkei also points Huawei could secure large TV panels from Chinese suppliers sucuh as BOE Technology Group and China Star Optoelectronics Technology, although Samsung remains the top maker of large, high-quality 8K panels.

Of course, making a 5G-enabled TV requires more than the panel. Huawei does make own 5G chips, but such a device requires a region housing small-cell stations, not to mention an 8K ecosystem of cameras, encoders and decoders. Telcos also need 5G capability, as well as the guts to disrupt current cable broadcasters.

Huawei has no comment on the Nikkei story, at least as yet.

Go Huawei to Enter High-End Electronics With World's First 5G TV