Qualcomm X60 Modem – A new 5G Modem with a Download Speed of 7.5Gbps
The Multinational semiconductor and telecommunications company, Qualcomm has finally disclosed details on its 3rd generation 5G Modem that will launch in 2021, the Qualcomm X60. Before this, Qualcomm had two distinct 5G modems that were used all across the world, the Snapdragon X50, and the Snapdragon X55. According to the details the Qualcomm X60 modem has the tendency to deliver an exceptional upload speed of 3 Gbps, which is a lot. Also, the download speed is considered at a striving speed of up to 7.5 Gbps.
Additionally, the modem maker company was on the plan to announce its X60 modem in the Mobile World Congress 2020, but due to the Coronavirus fears, the MWC got canceled. And so, the company revealed the details of its latest 3rd gen modem yesterday on 18th Feb 2020.
See: Snapdragon 865 CPU – A Qualcomm’s new Monster Chip
Qualcomm X60 Modem is built on 5nm Process
One of the most interesting and important features of the Qualcomm X60 modem is that it is built using the 5nm process. It is the first-ever modem to be built by Qualcomm using the 5nm semiconductor process. Well, this is the greatest improvement because by building such modems, the size of the chip will greatly decrease. This means the smaller the area of the chip, the greater is its efficiency and the lesser power it consumes.
Before this, Qualcomm had built both of its modems, the X50 and X55, on the 7nm process. That is why; those models couldn’t offer greater efficiencies as were expected. But now, due to the 5nm process built X60, the sizes of the chips will be smaller and efficiencies will get higher. Also, no other company is close to making a modem built using the 5nm process any soon, and that’s the plus point Qualcomm is having by the X60 at the moment.
The First to Offer Carrier Aggregation
Another important and noticeable feature here is that the Qualcomm X60 modem is the first ever to offer carrier aggregation across all 5G bands and combinations. This means that the X60 embedded phones will support mmWave and sub-6 using FDD (Frequency division duplex) and TDD (Time division duplex) at a broader range. Because of this, it will be easy for different smartphone makers to design 5G enabled devices. And hence, the 5G wireless connectivity will widen quite more than before, using X60 modems.
The X60 will also be able to deliver an incredible download speed of 5 Gbps on Sub-6 and 7.5 Gbps on mmWave. While the upload speed of X60 will be approximately 3 Gbps on both Sub-6 and mmWave.
When will the Qualcomm X60 rollout?
The rollout of Qualcomm’s 5G modems is always a major concern for everyone. It is because the announcement and the official rollout time difference for Qualcomm modems are usually 1-2 years. The X50 modem took 2 years for launching into the consumer devices. While for the X55, the time was quicker, estimating to be 1 year. With X55 to fully launch and spread in the consumer devices all around the world, it was obvious that the Company would announce its next modem anytime soon.
To sum up, it can be estimated that Qualcomm X60 will be at some time in 2021. Annual Tech Summit also occurs in December each year, so we expect to see some of the early X60 reference designs at that event. We can see the updates for the Snapdragon X60 at IFA in August, or at Qualcomm’s 5G analyst event. If no updates there, then there’s always the Tech Summit that occurs in December.
Source: Macworld
