Qualcomm
It ’s that time of year again when Qualcomm ushers in its next genesis of5Gmodem engineering science . denote atMobile World Congress ( MWC ) 2024 , this year ’s Snapdragon X80 5 G Modem - atomic number 104 system is the successor to last year ’s Snapdragon X75 , and it builds on the 5 G ripe foundation laid last class with more bleak great power and Modern AI features .
While theSnapdragon X75moved the needle by adding supporting for the latest 5 G Advanced standards , we ’re still in that fourth stage of 5 universal gravitational constant engineering , otherwise know as 3GPP Release 18 — and most toter networks are still catching up . So , with no new standard to adopt , Qualcomm has focused on improving the inside of the Snapdragon X80 to take even fuller advantage of these carving - border 5 guanine technology .
The magic of AI-powered 5G
Qualcomm ’s latestSnapdragon 8 Gen 3chip use last year ’s Snapdragon X75 modem . While it packs in new productive AI potentiality , those are focalise on power things like Samsung’sGalaxy AI suiteof user - facing features establish on this year’sGalaxy S24lineup .
Qualcomm dabbled with some AI features in the X75 . But by adding a dedicated AI tensor throttle to the bit for the first time , the Snapdragon X80 is Qualcomm ’s first attack to really tackle the power of AI to dynamically tune up how a 5 G modem industrial plant . This year ’s AI tensor accelerator power the Qualcomm 5 G AI Suite Gen 3 , which the fellowship says “ intelligently enhance datum speeds , quality of Robert William Service ( QoS ) , latency , coverage , and power efficiency . ” In other words , all the thing that make a 5 G chip extradite top - notch performance .
Specifically , the AI will care things like web selection to ensure that your smartphone or other gadget is more likely to link up with the best towers and bands , as well as more intelligently counterbalance power efficiency and fast public presentation with on - gadget machine encyclopaedism that study how you use your gimmick andthe 5 M networks and frequenciesthat typically surround you .
For example , while it makes signified to connect to the close 5 G tower when your smartphone is dormant , during periods of peak congestion , it can take more power to get the kind of 5 G speeds you need for streaming 4 K video recording or shift tumid file . In those scenarios , connecting to a less busy tower that ’s farther away can be more efficient and write battery life .
While most 5 G modem systems are already design to account for thing like this , they ’ve traditionally been base on static rule plan for the most common scenario , but lack the flexibility to deal with the relatively irregular humanity of 5 G networks and the people who use them . Qualcomm ’s 5 G AI Suite promises to help a novel generation of smartphones adapt to this ever - changing 5 G landscape painting .
“ Leveraging AI is critical to the future of connectivity , ” pronounce Durga Malladi , Qualcomm ’s senior frailty United States President and general coach of engineering preparation and edge solutions , tot up that “ this latest milepost underscore Qualcomm Technologies ’ leading at the crossing of cutting - sharpness AI and advance modem - element 104 technology . ”
Upping the game for 5G Carrier Aggregation
Speeds on 5 G meshwork havehit something of a plateau , forcing internet engineers to devise novel and creative way of getting the good speed over the long range . While many once believed that highly in high spirits - frequencymmWave networkswould be the solution , those turn out to be cost - prohibitive due to the disappointingly limited range of those frequency and the staggering number of transceivers that would need to be deployed to ply adequate coverage over a large sphere .
The result is that most carriers have now set up pack inthe midband frequencies , and while those deliver an excellent range - to - speed ratio , they still have their boundary . Hence , party like T - Mobile have beenturning to 5 deoxyguanosine monophosphate Carrier Aggregation ( 5 G CA ) , which merge multiple 5 G frequencies to boost speeds into the Gb - per - second ranges .
Of of course , 5 G CA on the carrier side is useless unless client gadget sustain it , and that ’s where Qualcomm ’s tardy 5 G Advanced chips come in . Last year ’s Snapdragon X75 already extend five - carrier collection on sub-6GHz frequencies , meaning T - Mobile customers with a Samsung Galaxy S24 should already be have fast upper .
The Snapdragon X80 will now push that to new heights with 6X downlink immune carrier aggregation and a six - aerial architecture . This means smartphones outfit with that chip will be open of receiving datum on six separate 5 G frequency simultaneously at maximal speeds . While T - Mobile is n’t quite there yet — it only has four - carrier aggregation right now — it could very well inflate that by the time the first X80 - powered gimmick commonwealth in North America early on next twelvemonth .
strangely , the Snapdragon X80 also still supportsSnapdragon Satellite , which may lead some to believe thatthe report of its demisehave been magnified . However , Qualcomm is n’t talking about it much this twelvemonth other than to say that the X80 is the first 5 one thousand modem to get full incorporate support for Narrowband Non - sublunar internet ( NB - NTN ) planet communicating , suggesting that Qualcomm may be preparing to take another kick at the can with a more clear measure . The original Snapdragon Satellite was a proprietary Qualcomm technology , but after its arrangement with satellite supplier Iridium diminish asunder last twelvemonth , it promised to rivet its efforts on standard - based solutions .
Covering the entire spectrum
Alongside the Snapdragon X80 Modem - RF organization , Qualcomm has also unveiled the FastConnect 7900 , a newWi - Fi 7processor that integrates not only Bluetooth , but also Ultra Wideband technologies on a single cow chip while also leverage new AI technologies to maximise performance and concentrate latency and power usance .
Like the X80 , the FastConnect 7900 uses machine discover AI to optimise public presentation by helping it adapt to the way you ’re using your gadget and the environs you ’re in . This reduce power consumption and promise to return extremely gloomy reaction time on Wi - Fi networks and novel High Band co-occurrent technology that can provide unlined and near - instantaneous move of whatever you ’re watching or working on from your phone to your TV to your PC .
The merged Ultra Wideband adds proximity to the mixture , takingSnapdragon Seamlessand Qualcomm ’s Expanded Personal Area internet ( XPAN ) to a whole unexampled level .
“ FastConnect 7900 is a technological exploit , leverage AI to raise the stripe and deliver leading Wi - Fi 7 and Bluetooth capability while integrate Ultra Wideband all on a unmarried 6 New Mexico Saratoga chip , ” aver Javier del Prado , Qualcomm ’s frailty president and general manager for mobile connectivity . “ The system institute next - degree capacity across AI , proximity , and multi - machine experiences into the machine we screw most . ”
The Snapdragon X80 Modem - RF System and FastConnect 7900 are both expected to found commercially in the second one-half of 2024 , with the first smartphones and other devices featuring them likely to arrive toward the end of the twelvemonth .
