Samsung to launch 5G modem with 5.1Gbps download speed

Samsung Electronics has unveiled a new processor and modem that will power 5G smartphones next year.

The South Korean tech giant's Exynos Modem 5123 boasts download speed of 5.1Gbps, double that of currently commercialised products, the company said at Samsung Tech Day in Los Angeles.

By grouping eight divisions of spectrum together through carrier aggregation technology, it can also reach download speed of up to 7.35Gbps for mmWave spectrum, it said.

It boasts 3Gbps on LTE networks by supporting higher-order 1024 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, Samsung added.

Samsung also introduced Exynos 990, its next-generation mobile application processor. Made with a 7nm process, the octa-core processor has a dual core neural processing unit and an embedded Arm Mali-G77 GPU made on Valhall architecture.

It also has an image signal processor that can by synced with up to six image sensors.

Samsung said it would start production of the two chips within the year. They will likely power flagship smartphones that are set to launch next year.

Earlier this week, the company also showcased its 5G New Radio Access Unit that can support 28GHz spectrum and is compliant with the 3GPP NR standard.

Samsung has been pushing 5G hard. On the product end, it was the first to launch a 5G smartphone with the Galaxy S10 5G. Its logic arm, Samsung System LSI, is a key supplier of the 5G chips from processors to modems that are underneath the hood of these devices.

For networks, it is currently the largest supplier of 5G radio stations in South Korea. The company is also supplying its mmWave spectrum equipment to US carriers and has deals to deploy them with Japan's KDDI next year.

Samsung previously said it has aspirations to secure 20% market share in 5G network equipment by 2020.

Also announced at Tech Day, the company's memory business said it has begun mass production of its 12GB low-power double data rate 4X UFS-based multi-chip package which is aimed at mid-tier smartphones.

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