Qualcomm at its MWC event announced the Snapdragon X70 5G 4m Modem-RF System, its fifth-generation 5G modem-to-antenna solution, and the successor to last year’s Snapdragon X65 modem. The company said that this uses world’s first 5G AI processor in a modem-RF system to achieve 10 Gigabit 5G downloads, incredible upload speeds, low latency, coverage, and power efficiency.
Qualcomm 5G AI Suite features:
- AI-based channel-state feedback and dynamic optimization
- World’s 1st AI-based mmWave beam management for superior mobility and coverage robustness
- AI-based network selection for superior mobility and link robustness
- AI-based adaptive antenna tuning for up to 30% improved context detection for higher average speeds and coverage
The Snapdragon X70 inherits the 10 Gbps 5G peak download speed from its predecessor and brings new features such as switched uplink, enabling 3.5 Gbps peak upload speeds in more networks globally.
Snapdragon X70 supports:
- Every commercial 5G band from 600 MHz to 41 GHz, offering flexibility to OEMs for designing devices capable of supporting global operator requirements
- World’s first 4X downlink carrier aggregation across TDD and FDD, mmWave-sub-6 aggregation
- Standalone mmWave support to allow MNOs and service providers to deploy services such as fixed wireless access and enterprise 5G, without needing sub-6 GHz spectrum
- Unmatched uplink performance and flexibility with uplink carrier aggregation and switched uplink support across TDD and FDD
- True global 5G multi-SIM including Dual-SIM Dual-Active (DSDA) and mmWave support
- Upgradeable architecture, allowing rapid commercialization of 5G Release 16 features through software updates
The Qualcomm 5G PowerSave Gen 3, coupled with a 4nm baseband process, and advanced modem-RF technologies such as Qualcomm QET7100 Wideband Envelope Tracking and AI-based adaptive antenna tuning dynamically optimize transmit and receive paths across a comprehensive set of user scenarios and signal conditions to significantly reduce power consumption and extend battery life.
The Snapdragon X70 is expected to roll out for the OEMs for sampling in the second half of 2022 and commercial mobile devices are expected to be launched by late 2022.