Today, Qualcomm announced that it"s bringing 5G to the high-end and the mid-tier with new chipsets coming in its Snapdragon 7 series and Snapdragon 6 series. The new chipsets will be available in 2020.
Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon 7 Series 5G Mobile Platform will be built on a 7nm process, and include features like Qualcomm"s AI Engine and Snapdragon Elite Gaming. It will support all major regions and frequency bands, including Sub-6 and mmWave. 12 brands have committed to using the new chipset, including Oppo, Realme, Redmi, Vivo, Motorola, HMD Global, and LG.
The firm didn"t say what the chipset will be called or what modem it will use, it said that details will be unveiled later this year, likely at Snapdragon Technology Summit in December. The Snapdragon 6 Series 5G Mobile Platform will come later, in the second half of 2020.
"Qualcomm Technologies delivered the world’s first and most advanced 5G mobile platform including the first comprehensive Modem-RF System to accelerate 5G commercialization in 2019," said Alex Katouzian, senior vice president and general manager, mobile, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "And we are uniquely positioned to accelerate 5G commercialization to scale globally with our OEM and operator customers with expanded mobile platform offerings across our Snapdragon 8 Series, 7 Series and 6 Series in 2020."
Qualcomm also announced that it"s rebranding its 5G modems. They"ll now be called Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF System, and that"s meant to be a more apt description of the product.