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Qualcomm Unveils 5G Snapdragon X70 Modem That May Appear in 2023 iPhones
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There is always marketing involved here. Exactly what they see as ‘AI’ might be subjective. Their AI is likely enhanced branch prediction.
I'm waiting for 7G myself. That'll be even better.You are right, that is why I wait for 6G. At least they promise many fixes.
6G: What It Is & When to Expect It
6G could be the next big mobile networking standard after 5G. Here's what 6G might look like and how it will be different from 5G.www.lifewire.com
/jk
This doesn’t work that way. The chip being unveiled now means that it still has a way ahead for it’s implementation.
The X65 modem was unveiled a year ago, however, the iPhone 13 lineup shipped with the X60 modem, which coincidentally was announced in February 2020… See the pattern?
X55 was announced in February 2019, gets implemented on 2020 iPhone 12 lineup, X60 was announced in February 2020, gets implemented on 2021 iPhone 13 lineup, X65 was announced in February 2021 and it’s expected to be implemented this years 2022 iPhone 14 lineup, and now, on march 2022 the X70 has been announced, and it’s expected to be implemented on 2023 iPhone lineup.
Every cell provider has their own definition of 5G. Verizon focuses theirs on a high speed closer to fiber optic speeds, they are using different method of distribution. T-Mobile believes 5G should cover everywhere and offer a consistent speed, their high speed version has an additional label alongside it. As for AT&T, I'm not entirely sure what their "5G" is at the moment.
As a T-Mobile customer, it has been consistent for me and works well. I live in a smaller city, so the "5GUC" is only available within the city limits. In areas where it isn't available, it's just straight 5G or LTE which I have coverage everywhere here. It's just not great inside buildings still. 5G has added better coverage for T-Mobile, but I still think there's room for improvement with availability as well.
I hope rural folks finally get some options. We're into 2022 and they're either stuck with shoddy cell reception or terrible satellite Internet options. This is ridiculous that people in these areas can't have 100MBs speeds available to them via cable lines or over the air.
Modems announced by Qualcomm never find their way into mainstream hardware until at least 12 months later. They will need to build up an inventory to the 100's of millions during this time. 0% chance this will appear in iPhone 14 series.
I think Apple will have its own 3GPP NR 5G modem ready for production by summer 2023. And will likely use even less power than the Qualcomm Snapdragon X70 modem.
Peak speed is really a horrible metric for cell services. Beyond 50mbps. You aren't likely to notice a difference on a mobile phone or tablet. Assuming true and reliable 50mbps.
I'm more interested in
- What's the performance at 1-2 bars in comparison to the current system?
- What's the performance during peak usage hours?
- Does it offer better range from towers?
- Does it penetrate buildings better?
That's where people have their issues. Not how fast the phone is at 5M from the tower when they are the only person connected.
"the world's first 5G AI processor integrated in a 5G Modem-RF System"
They're just saying random sh** at this point. Pulled out the buzzword generator and ran with the output.
They're just saying random sh** at this point. Pulled out the buzzword generator and ran with the output.
At this point, all anyone cares about with QC 5G modems is that they won’t kill the battery like the current ones do.
True, but US Carriers are also pushing 5G Home Internet services as a way to bypass putting fiber in neighborhoods, so transfer rate for that usage is important.
how about this years iPhone? the iPhone 14.
Who wants to wait until 2023?
We could be in WWIII by then with Russia.
Who wants to wait until 2023?
We could be in WWIII by then with Russia.
Qualcomm has unveiled its new 5G Snapdragon X70 modem, which is likely to be the last Qualcomm modem to be used by Apple in its iPhones before it switches to in-house custom-designed chips.
Qualcomm says its latest 5G modem for smartphones includes "the world's first 5G AI processor integrated in a 5G Modem-RF System," which is supposed to increase the average download and uplink speeds on mmWave and sub-6GHz bands. From the company's press release:
According to the company, the Snapdragon X70 can reach up to 10Gbps downlink speed and a peak 3.5Gbps upload speed, and yet it is up to 60% more power efficient, due to its 5G PowerSave Gen 3 technology. The modem also includes support for global 5G multi-SIM and Dual-SIM Dual Active.
The Snapdragon X70 modem is expected to launch in 5G devices by the end of this year, although that doesn't necessarily mean it will appear in the iPhone 14, or indeed any future iPhone.
In a 2020 agreement to dismiss a long-running legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm, a settlement filing revealed that Apple has committed to using X65 and X70 modems in products launched between June 1, 2022 and May 31, 2024, which would seem to suggest the X65 will be used in the iPhone 14, while the just-announced X70 modem will be in Apple's 2023 iPhone series.
However, other reports have suggested Apple will have its own custom-designed 5G modem ready for use in 2023 iPhone models, so it's not entirely clear where the X70 fits in. Apple could end up using its own chips in most regions, and rely on Qualcomm for X70 chips in certain areas (or certain models), which could explain why Qualcomm says it is expecting to supply just 20% of Apple's iPhone modems in 2023. When Apple's agreement with Qualcomm ends, Apple will switch to its own custom-designed cellular modem for all future devices.
Rumors in early 2019 suggested that Apple was planning to design a modem in-house, and in mid-2019, Apple purchased the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business to accelerate its own development efforts. Apple took over Intel's modem-related intellectual property and hired 2,200 Intel employees, and it has already lined up its main chip manufacturing partner TSMC to begin producing the majority of its new in-house modem chips.
Article Link: Qualcomm Unveils 5G Snapdragon X70 Modem That May Appear in 2023 iPhones
Am I the only one that doesn't understand Qualcomm's reasoning for putting AI on the modem?! Qualcomm describes it's the first this and that but NOTHING as to WHY the AI is on the modem.
Hell no! Qualcomm hasn't stated why AI is on the modem, why does a modem need AI for on it?! So the cpu doesn't track data nor the OS?
No thanks.
You don't need AI for this. And Qualcomm is not being clear as to what its used for vs just stating its first. That raises alarm bells for me.
Either Qualcomm is forthcoming or they're purposely NOT and for a reason.
I thought 2023 was supposed to be the first year with Apple's modems?
Because it's an awesome buzzword for the tech industry.
It depends. I have T-Mobile sub-6GHz in my suburban neighborhood and it works very well. So well in fact that I dumped my Xfinity/Comcast cable modem and switched to a T-Mobile 5G gateway. I get consistently over 600 Mbps downloads which is over twice as fast as my old cable modem—and at 1/2 the monthly cost.
The need for 5G speeds on a phone are less clear unless you are doing a lot of hotspot use. I guess uploading large photo and video files would be another use. With my iPad mini 6 though the 5G speed is greatly appreciated. It's faster than almost any available WiFi network that you can access.
LTE was the same when it first launched. It takes time to refine and get the networks working consistently. Clearly you weren't afraid for the pretty much weekly "outages" in the early days of LTE. 5G is leaps and bounds better than the LTE rollout was.
Qualcomm modems will always be better than anyone else in low coverage areas.
The problem is the "5G" that is out there is no better than the LTE. The mid-band is only in certain areas (useless for millions of people) and the high band/millimeter wave stuff doesn't help anyone unless you're looking at the transmitter on the pole.
The problem is the "5G" that is out there is no better than the LTE. The mid-band is only in certain areas (useless for millions of people) and the high band/millimeter wave stuff doesn't help anyone unless you're looking at the transmitter on the pole.
I really don’t get the point of mmWave. The range and ability to penetrate walls seems LESS than even WiFi. Why are we even bothering with large scale deployment for an impractical wireless technology? It just looks like a dead end to me with no future. The sub-6ghz stuff is what looks promising, because people can actually UTILIZE it. MmWave is just frivolous technology for the sake of technology.
The main objectives of modern network deployment should be focused on coverage and bandwidth. Handle more traffic completely unthrottled with better coverage. The 5G home services I’ve seen so far seem to be the most promising part of 5G. But getting 10 gpbs speeds on your phone while standing 10 feet away from a mmWave transmitter….pointless.
Maybe certain models will get Qualcomm in 2023 and others will be Apple designed custom modem.