Qualcomm's new X65 5G modem downloads data at lightning ...

Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X65 includes artificial intelligence tuning technology for the first time, which boosts a modem's performance. It can ... ShouldYouUpgradetoiPhone14? iPhone14Deals iPhone14Pro,ProMaxReview Don'tUpdatetoiOS16Yet AppleWatch8Review AppleWatchSE(2022)Review AppleWatch8Deal Google's$100MSettlement Yourguidetoabetterfuture WantCNETtonotifyyouofpricedropsandthelateststories? No,thankyou Accept Tech Mobile Follow Qualcomm'snewX655Gmodemdownloadsdataatlightning-fast10Gbpsspeeds Whoneedsthat?Peoplegettingfixedwirelesshomeinternetaccessandcompaniesbuildinghigh-techfactories,amongotherusers,Qualcommexecssay. SharaTibken Feb.9,20214:30a.m.PT SharaTibken Managingeditor SharaTibkenismanagingeditorforCNETNews,overseeingateamcoveringtechpolicy,EUtech,mobileandthedigitaldivide.ShepreviouslycoveredmobileasaseniorreporteratCNETandwroteforDowJonesNewswiresandtheWallStreetJournal.SharaisanativeMidwesternerwhostillprefers"pop"over"soda." Seefullbio 7minread Qualcomm'snewX65modemcandownloaddataatupto10Gbps. Qualcomm Qualcomm'snewmodemishere,it'sblazingfastandit'snotjustforphones.TheSnapdragonX655GModem-RFSystemcandownloaddataatupto10Gbps,anditwillpowerhigh-enddevicesstartinglaterthisyear.Thoseincludepremiumsmartphones,PCs,mobilehotspots,robots,fixedwirelessaccessandprivate5Gnetworkssetupbycompanies. WiththeX65,unveiledTuesday,userswillgetabumpinspeedbutalsoseebetterbatterylife.Coveragewillimprove,latencywilldecreaseandapplicationswillbeevenmoreresponsivethantheyarewithQualcomm'searlierX60modemtechnology.Andcapacitywillbe"massive,"lettingmorepeopleonanetworkmakereliableandcrispvideocallswiththeirdoctorsandfaceoffagainstrivalsinstreaminggames.QualcommonTuesdayalsounveileditsX625GModem-RFSystemthat'scapableofdownloadingdataatupto4.4Gbpsandaimedatlessexpensivesmartphones.  Nowplaying: Watchthis: WereviewtheGalaxyS21Ultra5Ganditsbonkerscameras 9:22 Withtheprevious-generationX60modem,justnowarrivinginsmartphoneslikeSamsung'sGalaxyS21,youcandownloaddataover5Gnetworksatupto7.5Gbpsanduploadinformationasfastas3Gbps,onlyslightlyfasterthanthepreviousgenerationofmodem.ButtheX60alsohastheabilitytoaggregatetheslowerbutmorereliablesub-6networkswiththefasterbutfinickymillimeter-wavespectrum,boostingoverallperformanceandhelpingusersseefasteraveragespeeds.  TheX65hasthesamebenefit.Whileit'sunlikelythatyou'llregularly--ormaybeevenever--see10Gbpsdownloadspeeds,you'llconsistentlyseespeedsthataremagnitudesfasterthanyourcurrent4Gsmartphone.That'spartlybecausetheX65systemhaseightantennasinsteadofthefourtraditionallyfoundinphones,somethingthatwillimprovetheconnection."Itmeansbettercoverage,bettercapacityforthenetworkingeneralandoverallbetteruserexperience,"DurgaMalladi,seniorvicepresidentandgeneralmanagerof4Gand5GatQualcomm,saidduringameetingwithasmallgroupofreportersaheadoftheannouncement."Youactuallygettohitthosepeakratesmorefrequently."TheX65isalsomorepowerful,whichgivesthesignalalongerrange,hesaid. Qualcommhaslongbeenknownastheworld'sleadingwirelesschipmaker,anditcounts Samsung,Appleandvirtuallyallmajorhandsetmakersacrosstheglobeasitscustomers.Inrecentyears,Qualcommalsohaspusheditscomponentsintocomputers,carsandvariousotherproducts,andithopestospread5GtoeverythingfromrobotstoVRheadsets.  Seealso Why5Gforsmartphonesisjustthestart Qualcommpays$1.4BforNuvia,aserverchipdesignerfoundedbyex-Appleexecs MediaTekjoinsQualcomm,Samsunginofferingultrafast5Gchips 5Gphonesin2021:iPhone12,GalaxyNote20,Pixel5andmore TheSnapdragonX65willhelpwiththateffort.While10Gbpsspeedsaren'tneededformostmobileapplicationstoday,theycouldbevitalforfactoriesorfixedwirelessaccessinhomes. At10Gbps,theX65is10timesfasterthanthefastestlandlineconnection,whichiscurrentlyabout1Gbps.  Theheavilyhyped5Gtechnologyalsoruns between10and100timesfaster thantoday'stypical4Gcellularconnection,andit's muchmoreresponsivethan4GandWi-Fi.5Gprovidesmorecapacityonthenetwork,lettingalotmoredevicesbeconnectedatthesametime.Andit'smorereliablethanotherwirelessconnections. QualcommtendstounveilitsnewestmodemattheMobileWorldCongresstradeshowinBarcelonaeachwinter,buttheglobalcoronaviruspandemichasdelayedtheconferencetothesummer.Afterintroducingastandalonemodem,QualcommthenworkstointegratethetechnologyintoitsnextSnapdragonprocessor,whichitunveilsinDecember.Ittypicallyappearsinphonesearlythefollowingyear.Samsung'sGalaxyS21smartphones,unveiledinmid-January,use Qualcomm'sSnapdragon888processor --announcedinDecember--withits X60modem,whichwasunveiledinFebruary2020. Theinitialhypearound5Gseemedtobeallaboutmobile.Thesuper-fastwirelessnetworkwillletusdownloadgigabitsofdatainsecondsandstreamlivevideoinultra-highdefinition.We'llbeabletodothingsthatwecouldneverdobeforeonamobiledevice--anddothemnearlyinstantaneously.But5Ghastheabilitytotransformmorethanjustphones.Ithashugeimplicationsforrobots,cars,healthdevices,retailandvariousotherindustries."Onceyougetto10Gbpsinmillimeterwave,youhavealotofenterpriseapplicationsnowthat...canbenefitfromthespeed,"CristianoAmon,Qualcomm'sCEO-elect,saidduringameetingwithreportersaheadofthelaunch.ThatcouldincludePCsinhomesorrobotsinfactories.TheX65"isaprettybigdealbecausewenowhavethetechnologyinplacetostartthinkingabout...thepromiseofallofthoseservicesof5Gbeyondphones,"Amonsaid.  Butphonesaren'tgoingaway,hesaid.Andit'slikelysomeofthefirstproductsusingtheX65willbesmartphones.CustomershavesamplesoftheX65now,andthefirstdeviceswiththemodemsystemwillarrivelaterthisyear.WhileQualcommdidn'tmentionApple,thetechgiantcoulduseaversionoftheX65inthenextiPhones,whichtypicallyhitthemarketinSeptember. Bringing5GtothehomeandofficeTheX65allowsdevicemakerstoeasilyrolloutnewfeaturesusingsoftwareupdates.Insteadofawirelessoperatorhavingtomakechangesattowers,thechangescanberolledoutremotely.It"futureproofs"thetechnologyandextendsthelifeoftheproduct,somethingthat'skeyforfixedwirelessaccessandotherareasthataren'tupgradedfrequently. Thewayfixedwirelessworksisthatacellularcompanybeamsasignaltoanantennaonorneartheroofofabuilding.Theconnectiontravelsdownacableintothehomeandthenconnectstoarouter,whichbroadcastsWi-Fitonearbydevices.Thebenefitisthattheserviceistypicallyfasterandeasiertoinstallthanatraditionalhard-wiredinternetlink,andyoualsogetthebenefitsof5G'slowerlatency. Whenitcomestofixedwirelessaccess,QualcommonTuesdayunveileditssecond-generation5GFixedWirelessAccessPlatform.It'spoweredbytheX65andfeaturesQualcomm'ssecond-generationQTM547mmWaveantennamodule,whichextendstherangeof5Gandcontainseightantennas.Thetechnologywillletoperatorsprovidefasterfixedbroadbandinternetserviceinhomesandbusinessesusingtheir5Gnetworkinfrastructure.  Verizon,forone, turnedonits5Gfixedwirelessservice beforeitlauncheditsmobileoffering. The5GFixedWirelessAccessPlatform"furtheradvancesoureffortsinaddressingthe'connectivitydivide'byhelpingprovideoperatorsacost-effectivewaytodeliverfiber-likeinternetspeedswirelesslyover5Gtorural,suburbananddenseurbancommunities,"GautamSheoran,seniordirectorofproductmanagement,atQualcomm,saidinastatement. QualcommalsounveiledanewSnapdragonX12+LTEmodemforfixed-wirelessdevicesthatrelyonlyon4Gnetworks.Operatorscanupgradetheirfixedwirelessofferingstoreachdownloadspeedsofupto600Mbps. MorethanjustfasterspeedsAlongwiththeX65areanumberofothertechnologiestoimprovetheconnectivityinadevice.TheX65pairswithQualcomm'sQTM545antennamodule,whichhelpsimprovemmWavesignals.Thetechnologyissuperfastbutcantravelonlyshortdistances,andit'seasilyblockedbytrees,handsandotheritems.Whileit'sfavoredbyVerizonintheUS, T-Mobile andmostcarriersinChinaandotherregionsoftheworldinsteadhaverolledoutsub-6GHz5G,whichdoesn'tgoasfastbutismorereliable. ButmmWaveisrollingoutinmoreplacesaroundtheglobe.AlongwiththeUS,it'sinJapanandSoutheastAsiaandlikelywillexpandtoSouthKorea,Germany,theUKandAustralia,Qualcommsaid.  HandsetmakerspackthreeorfourmmWavemodulesintotheirdevicestopreventthesignalfrombeingblockedbyahand.TheQTM545modemantennamoduleisQualcomm'sfourth-generalmmWaveproductatatimewhenitsrivalsareontheirfirstgeneration.It'sthesamesizeasthepreviousgenerationbutsupportshighertransmitpowerandallglobalmmWavefrequencies.  GalaxyS21Ultra:Samsung'smostluxeSphoneyet +47more Seeallphotos Intermsofrivals, MediaTeklastweekunveileditsM80processorthatwillbringmmWavetoitscustomersforthefirsttimelaterthisyear,whileSamsung'sExynos2100shippedintheGalaxyS21insomemarkets.Bothofthosemodemsarecapableofdownloadingdataataround7Gbps. Qualcomm'snewSnapdragonX65includesartificialintelligencetuningtechnologyforthefirsttime,whichboostsamodem'sperformance.Itcanperformtaskslikeimprovingaccuracyindetectinghandgripsby30%comparedtotheX60andultimatelyleadstofasterdataspeeds,bettercoverageandlongerbatterylife."Itcontinuestolearnandgetbetterasyouuseyourmodem,"Amonsaid. TheX65alsoincludesQualcomm's5GPowerSave2.0thatimprovesbatterylife,anditsSmartTransmit2.0boostsuploaddataspeedsandimprovescoverageformmWaveandsub-6GHzbandswhilemeetingRFemissionsrequirements.AndittapsintoQualcomm'slatestradiofrequencyfrontendtechnologytocoverallofthe5Gairwavesdeployedaroundtheglobe.Whenitcomesto5G,thereareover10,000frequencybandcombinations,versusfewerthan20intheearlydaysof4G.Qualcomm'stechnologyallowscompaniestofocusonindustrialdesignandwhatadevice'suserinterfaceislikeinsteadofspendingtimedealingwiththecomplexityof5Gairwaves.Itmanagesallofthesignalssentandreceivedovertheairandimprovesbatterylife.  "ThebreadthofindustriesthattheX65ModemRFPlatformactuallytouchesisquitestaggering,"Malladisaid.Qualcommhasmadesurethatithas"addressedwhatwethinkiswhere5Gisheaded,"hesaid. 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