Qualcomm Debuts Second Chip In Run-Up To 5G

Qualcomm, the largest maker of smartphone chips, is prepping for 5G with the launch of a new chip.

The offering is designed to work with the company’s new Snapdragon X55 5G modem, which will start to appear in devices later on this year. The new system will assist original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), speeding up time to launch and performance, supporting additional frequency bands and slashing development effort for 5G mobile devices.

The company noted that mobile operators will benefit from improved network capacity and coverage, brought on by devices’ advanced capabilities. Since X55 combines several components into one device, consumers will get to enjoy sleeker 5G smartphones that boast longer battery life, call reliability, quality, data speed and network coverage.

“OEMs face a range of formidable design challenges when it comes to 5G. The need to support multimode operation from 5G to 2G, along with an ever-increasing number of band combinations, brings unprecedented complexity,” said Cristiano Amon, president of Qualcomm, in a press release. “Discrete modem or RF solutions are no longer sufficient. Qualcomm Technologies is unique in the mobile industry by offering a comprehensive modem-to-antenna solution, and we are pioneering efforts in all aspects of 5G, and ready to enable our customers with these capabilities to help them commercialize the first wave of 5G devices this year.”

The company revealed it is also launching the world’s first 5G 100MHz envelope-tracking solution, QET6100, as well as a series of integrated 5G/4G power amplifier (PA) and diversity modules. The new QAT3555 5G adaptive antenna-tuning solution will extend adaptive antenna-tuning technology to 5G bands up to 6 GHz, while also offering a 25 percent reduced package height, compared with previous offerings.

Qualcomm‘s announcement on these new products come before the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the industry’s annual showcase for wireless technology.