Qualcomm announces new Snapdragon 636 SoC for mid-range smartphones
17 Oct 2017
Qualcomm announced its new Snapdragon 636 SoC for mid-range smartphones at the 4G/5G summit in Hong Kong. According to the company, the new chipset is 40 per cent faster than the Snapdragon 630 SoC, announced earlier this year.
The company also announced that it had successfully tested a 5G data connection on its Snapdragon X50 5G modem chipset.
''Achieving the world's first announced 5G data connection with the Snapdragon X50 5G modem chipset on 28GHz mmWave spectrum is truly a testament to Qualcomm Technologies' leadership in 5G and extensive expertise in mobile connectivity. This major milestone and our 5G smartphone reference design showcase how Qualcomm Technologies is driving 5G NR in mobile devices to enhance mobile broadband experiences for consumers around the world,'' said Cristiano Amon, executive vice president, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc and president, QCT, www.bgr.in reported.
Qualcomm, which conducted the demonstration in its San Diego labs, has also released a video. In the test, the new Snapdragon X50 5G modem chipset hit speeds of up to 1 gigabit (or 1,000 megabits) per second, which is many times faster compared to the current 4G LTE wireless networks on today's smartphones.
According to commentators, in the battle of next-gen mobile broadband, the high-speed 5G data will help Qualcomm take on rivals like Huawei and Intel.
"The ability to progress from a product announcement to functional silicon in twelve months speaks to Qualcomm Technologies' generational cellular technology leadership - now extending to 5G," the company said in a press release.
Qualcomm also boasted its SDR051 mmWave RF transceiver integrated circuit (IC), which played a key role in the successful demonstration.
The Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem family will feature in 5G smartphones and networks in the first half of 2019.
According to commentators, the Snapdragon 636 is expected to trickle down the near-bezel less and tall displays to mid-range smartphones.