Qualcomm Unveils 5G Snapdragon X70 Modem That May Appear in 2023 iPhones

[jdb8167]

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.

T-Mobile's mid-band should eventually be everywhere that Sprint was available. I know their mid-band coverage in the northeast is pretty strong. Now that I have T-Mobile's sub-6GHz for my home internet, iPhone and iPad mini, I'm cautiously optimistic that 5G will actually be a step up from LTE for many people.

 

[MacBH928]

I do not understand why Intel that makes processors for computers world wide for like 70s years could not make a similar modem to Qualcomm ... a modem.

5G is a MAJOR letdown in Suburban and Rural areas :/
Even in the Cities it struggles in certain spots. It's EXTREMELY limited. 5G in many ways is a step backwards from LTE.

A working internet is better than no internet, and yes LTE 50-100Mbps is sufficient and actually speedy for most things (4k movie can stream on about 30-40Mbps) . The computer/modem should be smart enough that when a 5G signal is weak or insufficient to auto switch to 4G (working) and when 5G is available and strong it should switch to 5G so you get the best of both worlds.

You can also just cut the chase and set your phone to 4G/LTE and call it a day.

I still don’t see any need for this sort of thing unless you spend all day on Speedtest.net. To be fair I get that other people will use their phone differently than myself, but are these insane speeds really worth the abominated, battleship grey eyesores that are being erected on every other street corner in every other town and city? Personally I don’t think so, but others will disagree.

Not exactly. In the future we expect larger sized files for one so you will need the faster connection. 5G also faster in latency, which means you get a quick response. The main reason though is that in high traffic/populated areas LTE will be slow to a crawl but 5G can handle it no issue.

Example: 70 thousand people in a Stadium connected to the nearest LTE tower will kill it , but next to a 5G tower it will be fast. Or so they say.

Same thing goes for airports, city centrals, festivals, concerts, and any place with high density. In addition in the future more things will be wireless and connected to the internet like cars, so now in addition to people you have to count cars, traffic lights, smart electricity meters, home devices, and whatever else will be wirelessly connected to the internet.

I am less worried about the aesthetics of this city, and more worried about my body and mental health with all these waves emitting around me 24/7/365 . LTE , 5G, Radio, Bluetooth, Wifi...etc etc...

 

[pcc1]

I won’t be buying another iPhone until one has the X70. Not so much for the speed, but the impoved signal quality and range. So, if as stated it will be in some iPhone 15s models then I will find it. Also, I hope they also put the X70 in an iPad 12.9”. I tend to leave my iPhone at home and just use the Watch while out, and an iPad in the car or pack.

 

[ryeclift]

5G is a MAJOR letdown in Suburban and Rural areas :/
Even in the Cities it struggles in certain spots. It's EXTREMELY limited. 5G in many ways is a step backwards from LTE.

Totally disagree. Also, not all 5G is equal. It really depends on which network you’re using AND where you are.

I am extremely impressed with the innovation T-Mobile has. Their speeds and reliability are top notch.

 

[jdb8167]

Totally disagree. Also, not all 5G is equal. It really depends on which network you’re using AND where you are.

I am extremely impressed with the innovation T-Mobile has. Their speeds and reliability are top notch.

Yup. I’m now using T-Mobile 5G for my home internet. It is twice as fast as Comcast at 1/2 the cost. I live in a suburb west of Boston.

 

[NT1440]

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

Regardless of the marketing pushes that come during the rollout of each generation, the new gen just fulfills the promise of the previous one. So 6G will get somewhere close to what 5G actually promised.

Except the mm wave junk. Works well in a crowded stadium, but aside from that the signal just can’t travel.

 

[rukia]

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.

In 2023 every CEO has to mention AI to boost the stock price. Even Arm, a long time application processor company, is now an AI company just in time for an IPO. Kudos to Cook for having some restraint with not just AI but "metaverse," NFT, crypto, and all the other tech flavors of the month.

 

[rukia]

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.

That's the problem with all communications tech including cellular and wifi. Many of the techniques for squeezing out more efficiency from limited spectrum have already been done. Currently the two biggest levers for improving performance are increasing frequency, which drastically decreases range and penetration, or more spectrum usage from wider bands or aggregation. This looks great on spec sheets and benchmarks but in the real world people don't sit next to the transmitter or have enough available spectrum so much of the potential speed upgrades are left on the table.

 

[Chuckeee]

Why would a 5G chip need AI?

Because AI is hot now (from a marketing perspective) and including it increases demand and justifies a higher cost. AI doesn’t have do anything better here.

 

[bn-7bc]

Apple has owned Intel for 3 years and ..........

Ok 'm way late, what they ment is that Intel has owned Intels cellular modem design team for 3 years. Which they have. And while it certainly has been little on the products front, hey who knew cellular modems where hard, I bet there has been a lot of work behind closed doors, we will have to see when the first product containing Apple modems hit the market if ever

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.

Because everything needs AI now or the investors vil cry and dump your stock faster than you can say "but AI is not mature atm, so don't sell our stock". It's all about keeping wall street and canary warf happy