We’ve had 5G for quite a bit now, but it hasn’t reached all devices and locations yet. Qualcomm has announced a new modem-RF system, in their quest to keep devices connected. The new Snapdragon X35 modem is supposed to bridge the gap between low-bandwidth 5G devices. Called 5G NR-Light, this will bring 5G support to devices like smartwatches, tablets, routers, and more. Optimized with the smallest possible form factor, and lower costs, Qualcomm hopes it would make it easier for manufacturers to make their devices 5G enabled.
We can expect consumer use of the Snapdragon X35 in the first half of the year with commercial mobile devices in the first half of next year, 2024. More in the official release below.
World’s First 5G NR-Light Modem-RF with a new streamlined architecture
Snapdragon X35, a 3GPP Release 17 RedCap modem with optimized RFIC and PMIC modules, offers OEMs new 5G capabilities to create next-generation devices for a new era of use cases. The flexible, streamlined architecture and high-level modem-RF integration deliver superior power and thermal efficiency while enabling a small form factor design tailored to fit inside compact devices.
Expansion of 5G ecosystem to new wave of use cases
Snapdragon X35 brings a unique mix of capabilities in data rates, power consumption, complexity, and reduced footprint needed to cost-effectively enable new use cases such as entry-level industrial IoT devices, mass-tier fixed wireless access consumer premise equipment, mass-tier connected PCs, and first-generation 5G consumer IoT devices like direct-to-cloud glasses and premium wearables.
With support for both LTE and 5G NR-Light, Snapdragon X35 is backward compatible and future-proof, enabling OEMs to develop devices that coexist with a wide range of 4G and 5G device classes helping scale 5G NR-Light services.
Breakthrough performance with advanced Modem-RF feature set
Snapdragon X35 is equipped with advanced modem-RF technologies aimed to significantly reduce power consumption, enhance 5G coverage, lower latency, increase battery life, and improve uplink speeds:
• Qualcomm® QET5100 Envelope Tracking
• Qualcomm® Smart Transmit™ Technology
• Qualcomm® 5G Ultra-Low Latency Suite
• Qualcomm® 5G PowerSave Gen 4
In addition, Snapdragon X35 supports dual-frequency GNSS (L1+L5) to offer precise positioning suited to enable new industrial use cases and applications. With its global RF-band support, Snapdragon X35 supports all spectrum bands within Sub-6GHz, FDD, and TDD, to satisfy the needs of various markets.
These innovations and other improvements in Snapdragon X35 are designed to power a new generation of use cases and applications from entry-level to premium. Customer sampling of Snapdragon X35 and X32 are expected to begin in the first half of 2023, and commercial mobile devices are expected to be launched by the first half of 2024. For additional details, please visit the Snapdragon X35 webpage.
