Qualcomm is shaping our wireless world (MWC 2022)
Qualcomm doesn’t just make Snapdragon smartphone systems on a chip. Qualcomm is shaping our wireless world. Its MWC announcements portend a largely wireless future.
In summary, its announcements cover significant expansions and innovations in the following growth areas.
- Wireless fibre – Bringing greater performance and flexibility to fixed wireless networks. Qualcomm has developed the world’s first Wi-Fi 7 and fastest Wi-Fi system
- Next-gen ARM PCs – Continued momentum in driving the inevitable transition to Arm PCS. Qualcomm will be developing the world’s first ARM-based ThinkPad powered by Snapdragon in the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
- Wireless sound – Shaping the future for wireless sound for music, calls and gaming. Qualcomm is introducing two new feature-packed, ultra-low-power wireless audio platforms. The Qualcomm S5 Sound Platform (QCC517x) and Qualcomm S3 Sound Platform (QCC307x) with support for Snapdragon Sound technology
- XR / metaverse – Expanding the ecosystem as Qualcomm reinforces its role as a ticket to the metaverse. Qualcomm has created purpose-built processor platforms to meet the unique requirements for immersive XR experiences. The XR1 and XR2 platforms
- Automotive – Accelerating automotive innovation with Digital Chassis. Qualcomm is helping automakers and introducing a set of cloud-connected platforms for telematics and connectivity. The digital cockpit, and driver assistance and autonomy, the Snapdragon Digital Chassis
- Industrial transformation – Collaborating to power digital transformation of the Industrial IoT. Qualcomm is collaborating with Gridspertise Srl., a subsidiary of Enel Group. It will digitally transform electric utilities and make the grid more reliable, flexible, resilient, and easier to maintain
- Modern 5G network – Architecting the modem 5G network. Qualcomm is introducing the Snapdragon X70 5G Modem-RF System, its 5th generation modem-to-antenna 5G solution.
While nerds will appreciate the significance of all these areas, or as Qualcomm says, ‘Growth beyond smartphones’, let’s focus on what some mean to CyberShack readers.
Snapdragon X70 5th gen modem
While Qualcomm is up to its 5th gen 4nm modem, most other modem makers are only at the second or third base using less-energy efficient, thicker substrates. The key to its modem-to-antenna 5G solution is AI (the smartphone learns all about the 3/4/5G environment). This increases signal strength, speeds (up to 30%), aggregates more bands, reduce latency and save power. The modem can support both sub-6GHz, its low-bands and mmWave (not readily available to consumers here). It also supports true dual active SIM.
We will see the X70 later this year in premium flagships. Meanwhile, the X65 4th gen (SD8 Gen 1) is a spectacular performer. In CyberShack tests, it has signal strength and coverage of up to 4x the competitors.
Wireless Sound – it is not just about Bluetooth
Bluetooth (all versions) suffer from longer latency (making gaming hard); lack of standard codecs (Qualcomm aptX has several varieties, including standard SBC, AAC, LDAC); and music quality.
The new Snapdragon Sound subsystems will offer 16-bit/44.1kHZ CD lossless audio; 24-but/96kHZ high-res audio; 32kHz super wideband voice; ultra-low latency gaming mode; in-game chat; recording in stereo; stronger signal lock, multipoint connectivity; as well as Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation via a dedicated hardware block.
So for the best Bluetooth experience, it will be on Qualcomm processors.
Wi-Fi 7 is coming later in 2022 (or when approved by IEEE)
Of course, you will need a Wi-Fi 7 BE router to handle EHT (extremely high throughput) and HBS (High Band simultaneous), and they could be some time away (earliest late 2024), but don’t worry – Wi-Fi 7 is backwards compatible.
It builds on Wi-Fi 6E. it makes greater use of the unlicensed 6GHz band – more bandwidth, less latency and greater speeds. It is also TSM (real time-sensitive networking) – very low transmission latency and high availability.
Qualcomm FastConnect™7800 subsystem sets new performance benchmarks with peak speeds of 5.8 Gbps and sub-2 millisecond latency.
- High Band Simultaneous technology harnesses 5 and 6GHz bands simultaneously for bandwidth-intensive, latency-sensitive use cases. Full-duplex speeds up to 5.8Gbps and <2ms latency
- Intelligent Dual Bluetooth delivers half the power, reduces connection time, and dramatically increases the range
- Together with Dual Bluetooth, Snapdragon Sound technology is extended into two streams, bringing CD lossless along with audio sharing enhancements
Windows (and more) on ARM
Lenovo’s new ThinkPad X13s is the world’s first laptop powered by the new Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 compute platform. It is significant for so many reasons. It offers a near-complete Windows experience (support for Windows x32/64 apps). And it has as all the advantages of smartphones – longer battery life, AI, 5G and high-def screens.
ARM is a viable alternative now for Windows devices.
Metaverse – it is not just about Facebook’s meta
Metaverse is about making virtual reality as natural as possible. It will provide a new way to interact with the digital world. To do that requires immersive realism, 360° video (eye-tracking), rich 3D spatial audio and the hardware to do it.
It is not about bulky VR cabled headsets (take that Zuc and Oculus). It is about having enough power in your smartphone (real-time processing and cloud access) and a lightweight set of VR glasses to use VR anywhere. Qualcomm calls it Extended Reality (XR), and it has the Snapdragon XR platform to build on.
Qualcomm sees the metaverse more closely linked to healthcare and education and training with travel (virtual experiences) and entertainment secondary.
CyberShack’s view – Qualcomm is shaping our wireless world
Qualcomm’s announcement at Mobile World Congress is ‘here and now’ for implementation later this year. The late 2022/earlty 2023 Qualcomm-based flagships will have much of this new tech in them.
Not putting down other ARM chip designers, but they simply don’t have the Snapdragon features in their 2022 lineup. But they do have a cost advantage. Trading off some speed and tech does not bother Joe and Jane Average.
Qualcomm is shaping our wireless world
