announced the Snapdragon X35 5G Modem-RF system, the world's first 5G NR-Light modem-RF system. NR-Light, a new class of 5G, bridges the gap 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-effective and provide longer battery life than traditional mobile broadband devices.
With its optimized design and breakthrough performance, Snapdragon X35 delivers a device platform that bridges the complexity and capability gap between the extremes of today's 5G and meets the need for mid-tier use cases. This lower-cost option offers device manufacturers a long-term migration path to replace LTE CAT4+ devices, ultimately increasing 5G adoption and enabling a faster transition to a unified 5G network.
In addition to the Snapdragon X35, Qualcomm Technologies also announced the Snapdragon X32 5G Modem-RF system, a modem-to-antenna solution designed to reduce complexity and power cost-effective NR-Light devices.
“The Snapdragon optimized and reduced footprint. The Snapdragon X35 is poised to power the next wave of smart connected devices and enable a wide range of uses. We look forward to working with industry leaders to unlock what’s possible with a unified 5G platform.”
New architecture
Snapdragon X35, a RedCap 3GPP Release 17 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 into compact devices.
A 5G ecosystem
The Snapdragon mass-level, mass-level connected devices PCs and first-generation 5G consumer IoT devices such as direct-to-cloud glasses and premium wearables.
With support for LTE and 5G NR-Light, the Snapdragon X35 is backwards compatible and future-proof, enabling OEMs to develop devices that coexist with a wide range of 4G and 5G device classes, helping to scale 5G services NR-Light.
Modem-RF Feature Set
The Snapdragon X35 is equipped with advanced modem-RF technologies intended to significantly reduce power consumption, improve 5G coverage, decrease latency, increase battery life, and improve uplink speeds:
- Qualcomm QET5100 Envelope Tracking
- Qualcomm Intelligent Transmission Technology
- Ultra-low latency Qualcomm 5G suite
- Qualcomm 5G PowerSave generation 4
Additionally, the Snapdragon X35 supports dual-frequency GNSS (L1+L5) to provide precise positioning suitable for enabling new use cases and industrial applications. With global RF band support, the Snapdragon X35 supports all Sub-6GHz, FDD and TDD spectrum bands to meet the needs of various markets.
These innovations and other improvements in the Snapdragon X35 are designed to drive a new generation of use cases and applications, from entry-level to premium.