Looking back at this special time node in 2022, "5G changes society" is no longer an empty slogan. Behind these changes, it is not only caused by technology trends, but also the inevitable result of Qualcomm's 5G products to help the evolution of the industry.
Snapdragon modems and RF systems have long been regarded as one of the most bellwether solutions in the 5G space – the Snapdragon X70, X65, X60, X55 and X50. These five generations of representative products have promoted the global industrial chain to continuously climb the peak on the road of 5G evolution.
5G development focus: continuous technology evolution and industrial cooperation
In the past three decades, the development process of 2G/3G/4G has proved that each generation of mobile communication technology must undergo continuous evolution and enhancement in order to burst out of strong vitality and achieve sustainable development of the industry. At present, 5G is in the ascendant, and if it is to complete the heavy responsibility of enabling the digital transformation of thousands of industries, 5G also needs continuous innovation and continuous evolution.
The industry has summarized four major evolutionary trends in 5G wireless technology. That is, to improve the performance and efficiency of the live network and reduce costs, to meet the needs of new business development such as personal ultra-high definition and immersive in the future, to meet the diversified needs of thousands of applications, and to deeply integrate with new technologies such as AI.
This coincides with Qualcomm's thinking, Qualcomm believes that 5G is not only the growth of network speed, but also provides a unified connection architecture. 5G is not only an extension of new technologies in the communications industry, but also provides a very important opportunity for the use of various scenarios, and 5G will help the mobile ecosystem expand to other industries. For example, 5G's wider data channels will create new application models for AI. Through the combination of 5G and artificial intelligence, not only artificial intelligence is placed in the cloud, but also the intelligent network edge can be empowered to release the full potential of 5G.
When 5G was first commercialized, with the leading Snapdragon 5G solution, Qualcomm made its 5G baseband almost as a household name as a mobile phone chip. After the maturity of 5G technology, Qualcomm has gradually expanded 5G from mobile phones to industries such as automobiles, robots and the Internet of Things, bringing a new look to thousands of industries and bringing positive changes to industrial development and people's lives.
Today, 5G technology is still evolving, and as the technology matures, more and more uses are also increasing. In Qualcomm's view, the development of 5G requires the tacit cooperation and close cooperation of the entire ecological chain to complete, 5G as a new technology, in the end, how much value can be created in empowering industrial applications, but also depends on the extensive technical exchanges and cooperation in the industry.
At present, Qualcomm is working closely with the global ecosystem to promote the popularization of 5G, including technology upgrades, consumer applications, industry applications, etc., to release more 5G potential. In China, Qualcomm has also been supporting and partnering with practical actions to promote cooperation in a deeper direction and a wider range of fields.
5G Knot Rope Notes: From Snapdragon X50 to Snapdragon X70
If you say, people have glimpsed the development of various dynasties and generations from historical sites. Then along the time node of Qualcomm's release of chips, we can also find a clear 5G "evolution history".
Fast forward to 2016, and people still don't know how far 5G is? Qualcomm took the lead in giving a clear answer. In 2016, Qualcomm officially released its first 5G modem- the X50 5G modem. Qualcomm also became the first company to release a commercial 5G modem chipset solution. This modem can help operators and terminal manufacturers take the lead in laying out 5G at that time.
With Qualcomm's all-round escort from chips, modems to RF front-ends, since then, the 5G dream of mobile phone manufacturers can finally be realized. Since then, most of the 5G terminals on the market have adopted Qualcomm's solutions, and it can be said that consumers have established a connection with 5G for the first time through Qualcomm.
2019 is the most important turning point in the development of global 5G. This year, developed countries and regions around the world began to launch 5G commercial use. In this year, Qualcomm announced the launch of the second generation of 5G modem Snapdragon X55. It is reported that the Snapdragon X55 baseband adopts a more advanced 7nm process process, and the power consumption and heat dissipation have been greatly optimized. In terms of frequency band support, Snapdragon X55 can cover 2G-5G networks with a single chip, and can eat all the world's major 5G bands. And it can achieve download speeds up to 7Gbps and upload speeds up to 3Gbps.
Entering 2020, the new crown virus epidemic suddenly struck and swept the world, but the construction of 5G did not stop. This year, the construction of 5G in the mainland has entered a key node, and it has also become a key year for the world to lead the world. In 2020, Qualcomm released the third generation of 5G modem-to-antenna solutions for the global market - Snapdragon X60. The Snapdragon X60 is the first 5G baseband in the world to use the 5nm process and the world's first solution to support millimeter wave and Sub-6GHz aggregation.
Through extensive spectrum aggregation, the Snapdragon X60 provides operators with extreme deployment flexibility and supports the 5G communication industry chain including many terminal manufacturers, helping them to complete performance improvement and ecological expansion, so that more consumers can enjoy a better 5G experience.
Facing 5G, the pace of Qualcomm's technological innovation is getting faster and faster. In 2021, Qualcomm's fourth-generation 5G modem and RF system, the Snapdragon X65, was launched. This is the world's first modem and RF system to support 10Gbps 5G rates and comply with the 3GPP R16 specification, built on a 4nm process and capable of achieving transmission rates up to 10Gbps.
10Gbps is a benchmark in the history of wireless communication consumption! This means that 5G terminals will have super connection rates that are not inferior to wired broadband, and wireless communications will have the ability to support all ultra-large bandwidth applications in the current consumer grade.
Back to now, at the beginning of the new spring of 2022, Snapdragon X70 was born as the fifth generation of Qualcomm modem and RF system, which supports all 5G commercial frequency bands from 600MHz to 41GHz, and is currently the most complete series of 5G modems and RF systems. At the same time, the X70 also provides the world's first downstream four-carrier aggregation, millimeter wave and Sub-6GHz aggregation across the TDD and FDD spectrum, reflecting strong band support and spectrum aggregation capabilities. The Snapdragon X70 also introduces millimeter wave separate networking capabilities, allowing mobile network operators (MNOs) and vertical industry service providers to deploy fixed wireless access and enterprise 5G networks without using sub-6GHz spectrum.
It is worth noting that the Snapdragon X70 also introduced the world's first 5G AI processor, using advanced features such as Qualcomm 5G AI Suite, Qualcomm 5G Ultra-Low Latency Suite, third-generation Qualcomm 5G PowerSave, millimeter wave 5G link and Sub-6GHz quad carrier aggregation to achieve 10Gbps 5G download speed while maintaining high upload speed, low latency and network coverage capabilities.
Write at the end
In 2018, the 3GPP plenary meeting held in San Diego, USA, approved the freezing of the independent networking function of the fifth generation mobile communication technology standard (5G NR), completing the first phase of 5G standardization. At that time, the world's leading telecommunications manufacturers, including Qualcomm, were almost all on the scene to witness this historic moment, and the door to a new generation of mobile communication technology was officially opened!
Since the global 5G was launched, it has made rapid progress in all dimensions. According to reports and data from relevant research institutions, 200 operators around the world have launched 5G commercial services, and more than 285 operators are investing in the deployment of 5G; GSA predicts that by 2022, the total number of global 5G connections will reach 1 billion.
In the current and next few years, 5G advanced technology will further develop and evolve, and 5G applications will continue to expand. In addition to accelerating the implementation of the current 5G technology in various fields, as a leader in 5G technology, Qualcomm will still be committed to promoting the common development and application of 5G technology in the whole industry, and leading the world towards 5G and the future! (Lesi)