AR glasses, wearables, industrial IoT and other 5G applications are expected to be supported by this modem.
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has released the Snapdragon X35 5, which it claims is the world’s first 5G NR Light modem/RF system. The 5G NR Light system is positioned between very low bandwidth NB-IoT and high speed broadband devices. This new 5G class called NR Light bridges the gap that exists between low-bandwidth NBIoT devices, and high-speed mobile devices. Qualcomm claims that 5G devices are smaller, cheaper and have lower power consumption and complexity thanks to the Snapdragon X35 architecture.
The Snadragon X35, according to the company, provides a combination of capabilities, such as data rates, power consumption and complexity, to create new use cases. These include entry-level IoT industrial devices, fixed wireless consumer premise equipment for mass market, mass tier connected PCs and first-generation consumer IoT 5G devices, like AR glasses that connect directly to the cloud and premium wearables.
Snapdragon X35 supports 5G NR Light and LTE, making it both future-proof and backward-compatible. It supports all sub-6GHz bands, TDD and FDD, as well as dual-frequency GNSS L1+L5. This allows for precise positioning that is appropriate for new industrial applications and use cases.
This modem-RF system uses a number Qualcomm technologies to improve battery life, reduce latency, improve uplink speed, and increase 5G coverage. This includes the Smart Transmit Technology, the 5G ultra-low latency suite, and the QET5100 envelope tracking from Qualcomm.
The following are some important specifications:
- Cellular technology: sub-6 GHz HD-FDD LTE, TDD, FDD (standalone), 5G NR Light, SA (standalone), Sub-6 GHz FDD
- Number of antennas : 1, 2
- Peak upload QAM : 64 QAM
- Peak download QAM : 256 QAM
- Cellular modem-RF: 20-MHz bandwidth (sub-6 GHz)
- Calling services: VoLTE, VoNR
- Peak upload speed of 100 Mbits/s
- Peak download speed is 220 Mbits/s
Qualcomm also announced the Snapdragon X32 modem-RF 5G system. This modem to antenna solution is intended to simplify the design of NR Light devices and reduce their price. The first half of 2023 is expected to see the start of sampling for the Snapdragon X35 & X32. Commercial mobile devices should be released in the first half of 2024.
