TCL is off to a busy start to 2024. First, at CES he announced a surprising number of new smartphones and two new tablets. And now we’re announcing another product at MWC 2024. It is his one of the world’s first 5G dongle to utilize the latest power. -Efficient 5G standard.
TCL Mobile’s Linkkey IK511 is a new pocketable 5G adapter powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X35 5G modem-RF system, which debuted last year as the first 5G modem to support the new NR-Light “RedCap” standard.
5G for everyone, everything, everywhere
RedCap stands for “Reduced Capability,” and while it may not sound like what you’re looking for in a 5G modem, it promises to fill an important void and bring 5G to a whole new class of devices. So that’s actually a good thing.
Qualcomm’s flagship modem chips like the new Snapdragon X80 are incredibly powerful, but with big power comes big energy consumption. This is sufficient for things like Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Still, not all devices need to achieve the lightning fast 5G speeds provided by new technologies such as mmWave networks and 5G carrier aggregation. These premium chips aren’t cheap either.
There’s more to 5G than just speed. Higher capacity means you can keep more devices connected in crowded places, and lower latency means you can keep up with all the small interactions most people do more often, like instant messaging and checking social messages. This means significantly faster response times. Receiving Media and Notifications. Additionally, 4G/LTE networks won’t exist forever.
As a result, there are entire classes of devices that require 5G connectivity, but cannot handle the power requirements of 5G modems in smartphones and tablets. Qualcomm’s X35 was initially highlighted as his 5G modem chip powering next-generation smartwatches. While this may still be the most common use case, it’s not the only one, as TCL’s new Linkkey IK511 proves.
connect the unconnected
Pricing has not yet been announced, but the Linkkey IK511 promises to offer a more affordable way for users to leave their 4G/LTE networks and enjoy the benefits of 5G. Although the reduced functionality also means reduced costs, the RedCap standard can still deliver download speeds of up to 150 Mbps and upload speeds reaching 50 Mbps, so for most people the IK511 will provide sufficient performance for everyday use. It should provide.
To put this into perspective, Netflix’s 4K UHD stream requires only 15Mbps of bandwidth, while even the highest quality streaming services like Disney+ and Apple TV+ have peak bandwidths of around 40Mbps.
TCL hopes its new 5G dongle will help democratize 5G. “TCL will work with Qualcomm Technologies to accelerate global connectivity by bringing 5G to more customers and writing a new chapter in the future of connectivity and interconnected devices,” he said. said Jesse Wu, general manager of smart connected devices at TCL.
The Linkkey IK511 joins the more powerful Linkkey IK512 and is designed for situations where more bandwidth is required. Together with the Linkhub HH132 Pro router, it supports 5G speeds of up to 2.46 Gbps, providing fixed wireless access (FWA) for homes and small businesses. According to TCL, the Linkkey IK512 will be available in Europe later this year, but pricing and availability for the IK511 have not yet been confirmed.
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