Qualcomm Snapdragon X80 5G, FastConnect 7900 and AI Hub unveiled at MWC 2024

Qualcomm, one of the hottest names in the mobile chipset industry, couldn’t miss this year’s MWC. The the company took to the annual fair to reveal the advances made in device AI, computing and wireless connectivity. During the company’s MWC event, we saw the debut of the Qualcomm AI Hub. The company showcased AI-enabled commercial devices and unveiled the Qualcomm Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF System and the Qualcomm FastConnect 7900 Mobile Connectivity System.

Snapdragon X80 5G modem-RF system

The new Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF system arrives as Qualcomm’s seventh-generation 5G solution. The new modem promises a peak download speed of 10 Gbps and a peak upload speed of 3.5 Gbps. Among the key features of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X80 we have the integration of a dedicated 5G AI processor, support for NB-NTN satellite communications, 6-antenna architecture for smartphones and AI-based mmWave range extension.

The wearable also brings artificial intelligence innovations for improved data speeds, latency, quality of service and other aspects in the field. There are also significant improvements in energy efficiency. Operators will experience more productivity and flexibility. One of the interesting additions is 6x carrier aggregation and expanded spectrum utilization.

It will be a while before we see the first devices featuring the Snapdragon X80 5G modem. The first devices with it are planned for the second half of 2024. We expect chipsets released in Q3 or Q4 of 2024 to include the new modem. One of the obvious chipsets coming with it will be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC

Qualcomm FastConnect 7900

In addition to the new 5G modem, Qualcomm also introduced its FastConnect 7900 mobile connection system. It successfully integrates Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth and Ultra Wideband (UWB) technologies into a single chip.

It uses AI to optimize performance based on different scenarios. This improves power consumption, network latency and throughput. Once again, Qualcomm is using the advances made in the field of AI to improve its chipsets. The new system also includes Ultra Wideband technology for secure device discovery and access.

FastConnect 7900 Key Features

• Supports 6GHz, 5GHz and 2.4GHz
• Up to 5.8 Gbps data rate with 4K QAM modulation
• Up to 4.3 Gbps with multiple streams of 5GHz spectrum
• Uses high-frequency simultaneous technology for improved performance
• 40% lower power consumption compared to the previous generation
• Support for Bluetooth 5.4, spatial audio and ANT+
• Compatible with Snapdragon Sound and Qualcomm XPAN
• Supports LE Audio and multi-stream audio for true wireless headphones.

Qualcomm AI Hub

Qualcomm also took the opportunity to unveil its new Qualcomm AI Hub. For starters, it serves as a portal for developers, offering optimized AI models for Snapdragon and Qualcomm platforms. These models improve the AI ​​performance of the device.

Key Features: Qualcomm AI Hub

• Optimized AI models: Over 75 AI and generative AI models are available, tailored for different form factors and runtimes.
• Hardware Acceleration: Utilizing all cores in the Qualcomm AI Engine (NPU, CPU, and GPU), resulting in 4x faster rendering times.
• Seamless integration: Developers can easily integrate these models into their applications, reducing time to market and unlocking benefits such as immediacy, reliability, privacy and cost savings.

Availability

The new optimized models are available on the Qualcomm AI Hub, GitHub, and Hugging Face. New models will continue to hit the platform. In addition, Qualcomm will continue to add support for new platforms and operating systems.

Developers can sign up to run cloud-hosted device models based on Qualcomm platforms. They will get early access to new features and AI models.

Conclusion – Qualcomm highlights its achievements in AI

Qualcomm also took the opportunity to highlight its recent advances in AI. Thanks to the development of new solutions and partnerships with smartphone brands, devices such as Honor Magic6 Pro, Oppo X7 Ultra and Xiaomi 14 Pro have arrived with interesting generative AI features. In the computing realm, the Snapdragon X Elite demonstrates rapid image generation in Gimp. The company also showcased its progress in the 5G infrastructure, automotive and consumer IoT areas.