MWC 2024: Qualcomm announces Snapdragon X80 5G Modem, AI Hub and more

Qualcomm has made a bunch of announcements at the MWC 2024 event. Check out the details.

• By Sai Krishna -
Published On: February 26, 2024

Noted chipmaker Qualcomm has made a bunch of new announcements at the MWC 2024 in Barcelona. The key areas of focus are on-device AI, intelligent computing, wireless connectivity, and Snapdragon X80 5G modem. The company says the Generative AI is expected to have a broad impact across industries, with estimates "that it could add the equivalent of $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion in economic benefits annually."

Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF System

• Qualcomm has unveiled the world's most advanced 5G Modem-RF System, the Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RG System.
• The Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF System architecture enables readiness for 5G across various product segments, including smartphones, mobile broadband, PCs, XR, automotive, industrial IoT, private networks, and fixed wireless access.
• The modem can offer a peak download speed of 10Gbps and peak Upload speed of 3.5Gbps. 
• Key features of the Snapdragon X80 include integration of a dedicated 5G AI processor, support for NB-NTN satellite communication, 6-antenna architecture for smartphones, and AI-based mmWave range extension.
• There are features like 6x carrier aggregation and advanced spectrum utilization.

Availability: The platform is currently sampling with commercial devices and is expected to launch in the second half of 2024. We believe it could debut with Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC.

Qualcomm AI Hub

• The Qualcomm AI Hub serves as a gateway for developers who are offering optimised AI models for Snapdragon and Qualcomm platforms.
• The company says that over 75 AI and generative AI models are available, tailored for various form factors and runtimes. This allows developers to unlock the benefits of on-device AI for the apps.

• Developers can easily integrate these models into their applications, thereby reducing time-to-market and unlocking benefits like reliability, privacy, and more. 
• The AI Hub leverages all cores within the Qualcomm AI Engine, resulting in 4 times faster inferencing times. 

Availability: Qualcomm says that optimised models can be accessed on the Qualcomm AI Hub, GitHub, and Hugging Face. New models will be added and there will be support for additional platforms and operating systems.

Separately, Qualcomm also unveiled the FastConnect 7900 Mobile Connectivity system, which integrates Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth, and Ultra Wideband (UWB) technologies in one chip. This supports 6GHz, 5GHz, and 2.4GHz bands and offers a 5.8Gbps data rate with 4K QAM modulation and up to 4.3Gbps with multiple streams of 5GHz spectrum.

Qualcomm is also rapidly expanding on-device Generative AI. Flagship phones like Honor Magic6 Pro, OPPO X7 Ultra, and Xiaomi 14 Pro already showcased generative AI features. The company is also expanding the generative AI to other product categories like PCs, Automotive, Consumer IoT, Connectivity, and 5G Infrastructure segments.