Qualcomm launches world’s first 5G NR-Light modem and RF system, enabling a new round of 5G terminal expansion

Qualcomm launches world’s first 5G NR-Light modem and RF system, enabling a new round of 5G terminal expansion

Key points:

• Snapdragon X35 expands 5G to new and rich use cases such as premium smartwatches, next-generation XR glasses, and Industrial IoT.

• Snapdragon X35 uses a streamlined architecture to achieve lower cost, lower complexity, lower power consumption and more compact size.

San Diego, February 8, 2023 - Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced the launch of the world's first 5G NR-Light (also known as RedCap) modem and RF system - the Snapdragon® X35 5G Modem and RF System. As a new category of 5G technology, NR-Light fills the gap between high-speed mobile broadband terminals and extremely low-bandwidth NB-IoT terminals. Compared with traditional mobile broadband terminals, NR-Light terminals equipped with Snapdragon X35 are smaller, lower cost, and have longer battery life.

With optimized design and breakthrough performance, Snapdragon X35 creates a new terminal platform that complements today's extreme 5G performance and complexity to meet the needs of mid-range use cases. This lower-cost platform provides terminal manufacturers with a long-term solution to replace LTE CAT4+ terminals and migrate to 5G, ultimately promoting the popularization of 5G and accelerating the transition to a unified 5G network.

In addition to the Snapdragon X35, Qualcomm Technologies also launched the Snapdragon® X32 5G Modem-RF System, a modem-to-antenna solution designed to help create less complex and cost-effective NR-Light terminals.

“Snapdragon X35 incorporates several key 5G technology breakthroughs from the world’s leading wireless innovators,” said Marco Maddja, senior vice president and general manager of cellular modem and infrastructure business at Qualcomm Technologies. “This world’s first 5G NR-Light modem features a cost-effective, streamlined design that supports leading energy efficiency, optimized thermal characteristics, and a smaller footprint. Snapdragon X35 will help drive a new wave of intelligent, connected edge devices and enable a wide range of use cases. We look forward to working with industry leaders to unleash the unlimited potential of a unified 5G platform.”

Key innovations in the Snapdragon X35 5G Modem-RF System include:

World’s first 5G NR-Light modem and RF system with a new streamlined architecture

The Snapdragon X35 is a 3GPP Release 17 RedCap modem that integrates optimized radio frequency integrated circuits (RFIC) and power management integrated circuits (PMIC) modules, providing OEMs with new 5G performance for building next-generation terminals for new use cases. The flexible streamlined architecture and highly integrated modem and RF system bring excellent energy efficiency and thermal efficiency, and provide a small form factor design for the customization of compact terminals.

Expanding the 5G ecosystem to a new wave of use cases

The Snapdragon X35 brings a unique set of features in terms of data rate, power efficiency, complexity and board area, which can cost-effectively enable new use cases, including entry-level industrial IoT devices, mass-market fixed wireless access CPE and connected PCs, and the first generation of 5G consumer IoT devices, such as cloud-connected glasses and premium wearable devices.

By supporting LTE and 5G NR-Light, Snapdragon X35 has the ability to be backward compatible and support future-oriented features, which can help OEMs create terminals that coexist with a wide range of 4G and 5G terminal categories, and help scale up 5G NR-Light services.

Advanced modem and RF feature set delivers breakthrough performance

骁龙X35采用先进的调制解调器及射频技术，旨在显著降低功耗、扩大5G覆盖范围、降低时延、改善电池续航并提高上行速度：

• Qualcomm® QET5100 Envelope Tracking

• Qualcomm® Smart Transmit™ technology

• Qualcomm® 5G Ultra-Low Latency Kit

• Fourth-generation Qualcomm® 5G PowerSave

In addition, Snapdragon X35 supports dual-frequency GNSS (L1+L5) to provide precise positioning, which can support new industrial use cases and applications . With support for global RF bands, Snapdragon X35 supports almost all frequency bands including Sub-6GHz, FDD and TDD to meet the needs of different markets.

The key innovations and other performance improvements enabled by Snapdragon X35 are designed to enable a new generation of use cases and applications from entry-level to premium.

Snapdragon X35 and Snapdragon X32 are expected to begin sampling to customers in the first half of 2023, with commercial mobile devices expected to be released in the first half of 2024. For more details, visit the Snapdragon X35 webpage.