Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 is the UK's first 5G phone

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The race to bring 5G to the UK is coming to a head – EE announced it will switch on its network on May 30, beating the competition to the punch.

But now we've heard Vodafone will actually launch its first exclusive 5G phone before that, making the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G the first 5G phone you can buy in the UK.

In a statement, Vodafone confirmed it will offer the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G from  today, and it'll also sell the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G – there's no release date for this latter phone at the time of writing, but the Galaxy will be available on EE from June 7, so it could be a roughly similar date. 

• These are all the 5G phones we're expecting to see
• There's a good chance we'll see a 5G Samsung Galaxy Note 10
• Check out our Xiaomi Mi 9 review

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G isn't going to be quite like the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 4G phone as, according to Vodafone, the 5G phone has a 24MP and 2MP dual rear camera array, whereas the 4G handset has two 12MP rear snappers. 

Showing the differences

We've contacted Xiaomi to find out if there are any differences between the phones, and will update this article when we get a response.

Vodafone is presenting the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G as its 'affordable' 5G handset, as it's a far more mid-range device than the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, but with an upfront price of £99.99 and costing £50 per month for even the most affordable contract, it's not exactly a cheap phone.

If you buy the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G phone today you won't be able to connect it to 5G networks yet - which is something of an issue when you're paying that much more - but it'll still run on 4G, and you'll get an early glimpse at what the future of phones holds.

• The first 5G phone in Europe was unexpected – here's what that means for you

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