Qualcomm has announced a range of new 5G and Wi-Fi 6 R&D projects as vendors begin to launch devices supporting next-generation wireless technologies and the focus can now shift from consumer products to enterprise applications.
At Qualcomm's "What's Next in 5G" media event on Tuesday, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf and President Cristiano Amon discussed the strides the company is making in the space, including use cases for 5G.
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The first area the chipmaker focused on was making sure 5G in mobile devices met consumer expectations of improved speed and reliability, a necessary step as Qualcomm chips are being used by smartphone and tablet vendors -- and, naturally, you need to keep your OEMs happy.
Vendors including ASUS, Black Shark, Fujitsu, iQOO, Lenovo, Nubia, OPPO, realme, Redmi, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE have signed up to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G chipset in devices hitting the shelves over 2020.
In total, over 70 designs have either been announced or in development based on the 5G chipset. Upcoming devices include the Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra; Sharp AQUOS R5G; Black Shark 3; Xiaomi Mi 10, and ZTE Axon 10s Pro will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G.
Now the chipset stage has been wrapped up and approved by OEMs, Qualcomm is focusing on 3GPP Release 16, 17, and beyond to bring 5G connectivity to other uses cases, including smart factories, IoT, and automotive technologies.
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The US chip giant's research focus has been separated into the following areas:
Qualcomm has also demonstrated its Wi-Fi 6E technologies, made possible with 6GHz spectrum. Wi-Fi 6E, currently undergoing regulatory approval, has been shown to offer transfer speeds up to 30% faster than current Wi-Fi bandwidth.
The company says its FastConnect 6800 subsystem, found in the Snapdragon 865 Mobile platform, will be able to deliver Wi-Fi speeds of close to 1.8 Gbps.
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Rahul Patel, senior vice president of connectivity and networking at Qualcomm said once 6GHz spectrum is allocated, "Wi-Fi 6E is primed to solve for modern connectivity challenges and create new opportunities for the next generation of devices and experiences."
Also of note is the backing of mobile operator networks that will facilitate the upcoming Always on, Always Connected 5G PCs, due to be launched this year. The Snapdragon-powered PCs will be supported by operators including Verizon, Sprint, EE, Telefonica, China Mobile, and Telstra. Subscriber plans are expected to roll out throughout 2020.
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