5G wearables are coming thanks to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X35 modem chipset
Qualcomm this week pulled back the curtain on a new 5G modem optimized for premium wearables. The Snapdragon X35 5G Modem-RF System chipset is the first compatible with NR-Light and RedCap specs contained in the 3GPP Release-17 standard. 5G wearables
Qualcomm revealed its Snapdragon X35 modem chipset, which will connect handheld devices to 5G networks, replacing older modems that linked gadgets to slower 4G LTE. Devices will have as fast or faster connection speeds while consuming less power, which will help designers connect devices — from wearables to mixed reality glasses — to 5G.
NR-Light, a new class of 5G, fills the gap in between high-speed mobile broadband devices and extremely low-bandwidth NB-IoT devices. NR-Light devices, powered by Snapdragon X35, can be smaller, more cost-efficient, and provide longer battery life than traditional mobile broadband devices.
With its optimized design and breakthrough performance, Snapdragon X35 offers a device platform that bridges the complexity and capability gap between the extremes in 5G today and addresses the need for mid-tier use cases. This lower-cost option provides device makers with a long-term migration path to replace LTE CAT4+ devices, ultimately increasing 5G adoption and allowing for a faster transition to a unified 5G network.
Snapdragon® X32 5G Modem-RF System
In addition to Snapdragon X35, Qualcomm Technologies also announced Snapdragon® X32 5G Modem-RF System, a modem-to-antenna solution built to lower complexity and fuel cost-efficient NR-Light devices.
“Snapdragon X35 brings together key 5G breakthroughs expected from the world’s leading wireless innovator,” said Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager, cellular modems and infrastructure, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “The world’s first 5G NR-Light modem features a cost-effective, streamlined design with leading power efficiency, optimized thermal, and reduced footprint. Snapdragon X35 is poised to power the next wave of connected intelligent edge devices and empower a wide spectrum of uses. We look forward to working with industry leaders to unleash what’s possible with a unified 5G platform.”
Key innovations in the Snapdragon X35 5G Modem-RF System include:
World’s first 5G NR-Light modem-RF with a new streamlined architecture 5G wearables
Snapdragon X35, a 3GPP Release 17 RedCap modem with optimized RFIC and PMIC modules, offers OEMs new 5G capabilities to create next-generation devices for a new era of use cases. The flexible, streamlined architecture and high-level modem-RF integration deliver superior power and thermal efficiency while enabling a small form factor design tailored to fit in compact devices.
Expansion of 5G ecosystem to a new wave of use cases 5G wearables
Snapdragon X35 brings a unique mix of capabilities in data rates, power consumption, complexity, and reduced footprint needed to cost-effectively enable new use cases such as entry-level industrial IoT devices, mass-tier fixed wireless access consumer premise equipment, mass-tier connected PCs, and first-generation 5G consumer IoT devices like direct-to-cloud glasses and premium wearables.
With support for both LTE and 5G NR-Light, Snapdragon X35 is backward compatible and future-proof enabling OEMs to develop devices that coexist with a wide range of 4G and 5G device classes helping scale 5G NR-Light services.
