(Credit: Qualcomm)
BARCELONA—Qualcomm showed off the modem and Wi-Fi chips that will be in the next generation of flagship smartphones during Mobile World Congress. The Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF and the FastConnect 7900 radio will rely on AI to help manage and speed up connections when possible.
The X80 has several firsts on board. It's a complete 5G modem-to-antenna module, now in its seventh generation, that packs everything onto a single chip. The X80 includes six antennas for smartphones, 6x carrier aggregation, and, for fixed wireless access products, an AI-based mmWave range extension. It has a dedicated tensor accelerator for AI operations that Qualcomm says can improve data speeds, reduce latency, and boost coverage and location accuracy all while maintaining a low-power envelope. It also supports 5G advanced.
The FastConnect 7900 is a triple-radio attack. It packages together Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth, and ultra-wideband into a single chip for device makers. Qualcomm says it will be great for digital keys, object location, and indoor navigation. Built-in AI can track the 7900's performance and adjust on the fly to diverse network conditions and help maintain a speedy and consistent connection.
Qualcomm typically announces radio modules well in advance of its next-gen processors. It is highly likely that both the Snapdragon X80 and FastConnect 7900 will appear in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 (or whatever Qualcomm's next-gen flagship processor is called). That means flagship devices like the probable Samsung Galaxy S25 will benefit from their capabilities. Qualcomm says products with these radios will arrive in the second half of 2024.
(Credit: Qualcomm)Qualcomm also launched a new AI hub for developers. The Qualcomm AI Hub will contain an entire library of prepared AI models that developers can plug into their devices or software. The Hub relies on dozens of popular and generative AI models, such as Stable Diffusion. The models can put Qualcomm's AI Engine to use for hardware acceleration and more. Qualcomm says the models are available starting today at the Qualcomm AI Hub, GitHub, and Hugging Face. More AI models will be added over time.