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Qualcomm Releases Snapdragon X60 Targeting Mid-range Smartphones
Europe’s annual technology show IFA has been stripped down due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but that isn’t stopping Qualcomm from making virtual announcements around the event. Qualcomm previously announced the more capable Snapdragon X60 modem as a follow-up to the X55 but hasn’t yet revealed a successor antenna solution to the QTM527, announced just under a year ago. As improving mmWave’s long-distance performance appears to have been a top priority for the company and its partners, it’s highly likely that we’ll see continued gains in future consumer and carrier offerings. But the company did announce the Snapdragon 400 platform, which will make 5G readily available on most smartphones. The SD400 platform could provide 5G to an additional 3.5 billion users in the not too distant future, although the Snapdragon 4 series chips are priced from $125 to $250, which would like eliminate >500m new phone sales/year. After the initial wave of 5G handsets, excitement about 5G has waned of late. That's not because the technology isn't exciting, but because it's been confined to only a small batch of handsets. In addition, the network rollout has been slower than expected.
With the new iPhone 12 and Qualcomm opening up the technology to all handsets rather than just flagship premium offerings, the mobile tech really can be for everyone. But mobile phone networks need to boost coverage and the industry must find some applications that warrant the high speed. It’s not voice and TV works just fine, so what’s next?
Europe’s annual technology show IFA has been stripped down due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but that isn’t stopping Qualcomm from making virtual announcements around the event. Qualcomm previously announced the more capable Snapdragon X60 modem as a follow-up to the X55 but hasn’t yet revealed a successor antenna solution to the QTM527, announced just under a year ago. As improving mmWave’s long-distance performance appears to have been a top priority for the company and its partners, it’s highly likely that we’ll see continued gains in future consumer and carrier offerings. But the company did announce the Snapdragon 400 platform, which will make 5G readily available on most smartphones. The SD400 platform could provide 5G to an additional 3.5 billion users in the not too distant future, although the Snapdragon 4 series chips are priced from $125 to $250, which would like eliminate >500m new phone sales/year. After the initial wave of 5G handsets, excitement about 5G has waned of late. That's not because the technology isn't exciting, but because it's been confined to only a small batch of handsets. In addition, the network rollout has been slower than expected.
With the new iPhone 12 and Qualcomm opening up the technology to all handsets rather than just flagship premium offerings, the mobile tech really can be for everyone. But mobile phone networks need to boost coverage and the industry must find some applications that warrant the high speed. It’s not voice and TV works just fine, so what’s next?
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