It’s that time of year again when Qualcomm introduces the next generation of 5G modem technology. Announced at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024, this year’s Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF system is the successor to last year’s Snapdragon X75, building on the 5G Advanced foundation built last year with more raw power and Built with new AI capabilities.
Although the Snapdragon We’re still catching up. So, in the absence of new standards to adopt, Qualcomm focused on improving the internals of the Snapdragon X80 in order to further take full advantage of these cutting-edge 5G technologies.
The magic of 5G powered by AI
Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip uses last year’s Snapdragon X75 modem. New generative AI features are included, but they’re focused on enhancing things like the Samsung Galaxy AI suite of user-facing features found in this year’s Galaxy S24 lineup.
Qualcomm has dabbled in some AI features with the X75. However, the Snapdragon X80 marks Qualcomm’s first attempt at truly harnessing the power of AI to dynamically adjust the behavior of a 5G modem by adding a dedicated AI tensor accelerator to the chip for the first time. This year’s AI tensor accelerator powers his Qualcomm 5G AI Suite Gen 3, which the company says “intelligently enhances data speeds, quality of service (QoS), latency, coverage, and power efficiency.” It means. In other words, every element that makes up the 5G chip delivers peak performance.
Specifically, AI handles things like network selection to ensure that your smartphone or other device is more likely to link to the best tower or band, as well as on-device machine learning that analyzes power Achieve a more intelligent balance between efficiency and high-speed performance. How to use the device, his 5G networks and frequencies that are usually around.
For example, it makes sense to connect to the nearest 5G tower when your smartphone is hibernating, but during peak congestion it may need to connect to the nearest 5G tower to get the 5G speeds you need to stream 4K video or transfer large files. Power may be required. In such a scenario, connecting to a far away, less crowded tower is more efficient and saves battery life.
While most 5G modem systems are already designed to handle such issues, they have traditionally been based on static rules designed for the most common scenarios, but relatively predictable. It lacked the flexibility to deal with the impossible world of 5G networks and the people who would use them. they. Qualcomm’s 5G AI Suite promises to help new generations of smartphones adapt to this ever-changing 5G environment.
“The use of AI is critical to the future of connectivity,” said Durga Maradi, Qualcomm’s senior vice president and general manager of technology planning and edge solutions. “This underscores Qualcomm Technologies’ leadership at the intersection of solutions.” Advanced modem RF technology. ”
Further evolving 5G carrier aggregation
5G network speeds are hitting a plateau, forcing network engineers to come up with new and creative ways to achieve the highest speeds for the longest ranges. Many once believed that very high frequency mmWave networks would be the solution, but unfortunately their frequency range is limited and the sheer number of networks needed to provide adequate coverage. transceivers, which proved cost-prohibitive. Large area.
As a result, most carriers are now based in mid-band frequencies, offering superior speed ratios, but still have their limitations. That’s why companies like T-Mobile are turning to 5G carrier aggregation (5G CA), which combines multiple 5G frequencies to boost speeds into the gigabits per second range.
Of course, a 5G CA on the carrier side is useless unless the client device supports it. That’s where Qualcomm’s latest 5G Advanced chip comes into play. Last year’s Snapdragon X75 already offered 5-carrier aggregation on sub-6GHz frequencies. That means T-Mobile customers should already see faster speeds on their Samsung Galaxy S24.
Snapdragon X80 takes this to new heights with 6X downlink carrier aggregation and six antenna architecture. This means that smartphones equipped with that chip can receive data at maximum speed on six different 5G frequencies simultaneously. T-Mobile isn’t there yet, with only a four-carrier aggregation at the moment, but it’s likely that that aggregation will expand by the time the first of his X80-powered devices land in North America early next year. There is enough.
Oddly, the Snapdragon X80 still supports Snapdragon Satellite as well, leading some to believe that reports of its deprecation are exaggerated. However, Qualcomm hasn’t said much about this this year other than to say that the X80 is the first of his 5G modems to get fully integrated support for Narrowband Non-Terrestrial Network (NB-NTN) satellite communications. , suggests that Qualcomm may be preparing for it. Why not try again with a more open standard? Snapdragon Satellite was originally Qualcomm’s proprietary technology, but after a deal with satellite provider Iridium fell through last year, the company pledged to focus on standards-based solutions.
Covers the entire spectrum
In addition to the Snapdragon X80 modem RF system, Qualcomm integrates not only Bluetooth but also Ultra Wideband technology on a single chip, leverages new AI technology to maximize performance, and a new Wi-Fi 7 processor that boosts performance. We also announced the FastConnect 7900. Latency and power consumption.
Like the X80, FastConnect 7900 uses machine learning AI to optimize performance by helping you adapt to the way you use your device and the environment. This reduces power consumption and provides extremely low latency over Wi-Fi. Networks and new high-band simultaneous technology allow you to seamlessly and almost instantly move what you’re watching or working on from your phone to your TV to your PC.
Integrated Ultra Wideband adds proximity to the mix, taking Snapdragon Seamless and Qualcomm’s Expanded Personal Area Network (XPAN) to a whole new level.
“FastConnect 7900 is a technological feat that leverages AI to raise the bar and integrate ultra-wideband all on a single 6nm chip while delivering cutting-edge Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth capabilities.” said Javier del Prado, vice president and general manager of mobile connectivity at Qualcomm. . “This system brings next-level capabilities across AI, proximity, and multi-device experiences to the devices we love most.”
Both the Snapdragon X80 modem RF system and FastConnect 7900 are expected to be commercially available in late 2024, and the first smartphones and other devices equipped with them could arrive toward the end of the year.
Editor’s picks
