If the speed of flows is always improved from one generation to another, the X75 modem that Qualcomm is testing will above all be more compact, less energy consuming, more precise and more intelligent. Scheduled for smartphone chips at the end of the year, it will also arrive in a platform that will equip cars as well as businesses and other industrial sites.
Although we are mainly talking about the computing performance (CPU, GPU, NPU) of smartphone processors, we must not forget that what makes the success of our terminals is also and above all their connectivity. A skill that we owe to a component that is too often overlooked: the modem. And the undisputed champion in the mobile domain, the American Qualcomm, has just announced a brand new modem called very poetically (or not) X75.
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Under this name somewhat reminiscent of the prototype aircraft of the United States Air Forcehides a technological gem that should equip the future Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Yes, you read that right: if the X75 component itself is designed to have multiple uses (automobiles, access points, factories, etc.), the all-in-one chips of smartphones will integrate it a few months later.
Smaller, more integrated, more efficient
This 5G modem (which also manages all other protocols from 2G), the X75 is a model at the forefront of standards…even in advance. Like 4G before it, 5G connectivity is a long series of technical developments that improve the protocol year after year. And this new generation component responds to all the latest “releases” versions of the protocol since it is compatible with the release 17 (the current one) and release 18, which will be “frozen”, that is to say validated, between the first and second quarters of this year. making X75 the modem the most modern of the moment.
After years of talking about connection speed, multiband, etc. To push speeds ever further (and this obviously continues), Qualcomm has however put more emphasis on the physical specifications of its new chip. Physical, because it is first and foremost about space: by integrating, on a single chip (instead of two in the past), the two 5G connection controllers (the Sub-6 frequencies as well as the millimeter waves ), Qualcomm offers its X75 the first “converged” architecture.
The interest is very physical, since this allows this piece of chip to save 25% of space on the PCB (the motherboard). A space saving of a few square millimeters which is always good to take in the confined space of smartphones – where the size of the image sensors continues to grow! The resulting energy saving of 20%, compared to two separate chips, is also good to take. Connectivity being one of the biggest consumer items with display (screen) and computing (games, 3D applications).
Hyper technical and (even) smarter
A modern component, the X75 ticks all the boxes. From the past, more or less recent – from 2G to 4G as we have seen, the aggregation of operators, Wi-FI 7 or even the recently announced satellite connection. In many scenarios (like aggregation), it goes further and stronger than its predecessors – up to 10 simultaneous mmWave (millimeter wave) operators – and supports all existing protocols to improve connection speeds – MIMO ( multiple-input multiple-output) to send the data on two bands, etc.
And it takes a giant step in “intelligence” with the integration of the second generation of AI processor in a modem. A piece of chip that integrates tensor units (as in the NPUs of SoCs) dedicated to it. This “IA” computing power x2.5 more efficient than the first generation, is in particular in charge of the more intelligent management of signals and frequencies. This, for example, improves the power of mmWave signals by up to 25%, thus promoting the maintenance (and speeds) of the connection.
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This deluge of technicality and power is not only used to look pretty or show off. Qualcomm cited several cases and scenarios, sometimes quantifying the gains brought by this “intelligence”. Like the speed and precision of geolocation even in the “urban canyons” of cities with many skyscrapers. Estimating that accuracy could be improved by 50% – which is handy for delivery, VTC tracking etc.
A modem that becomes a platform
High-end smartphones of 2024 equipped with a Snapdragon “8 Gen 3” (which should be announced next November/December) will not be the only devices to take advantage of this super modem. In addition to integration into its famous mobile chip, Qualcomm has also used this new component to launch its “Fixed Wireless Access Platform Gen 3”, its new generation of 5G platform to connect… well almost everything. From operator internet connection boxes, to companies’ private 5G networks, through connected cars to industrial sites and other hospitals, this platform – and therefore this modem – will be at the heart of Qualcomm’s 5G offer for next two years. All this in just a few square millimeters of silicon and a few antennas!
