Qualcomm has made new generative AI and connectivity experience-related announcements at MWC 2024 in Barcelona. It took the stage to talk about the new Qualcomm AI Hub, the Snapdragon X80 5G modem, and the FastConnect 7900 connectivity system. Let’s have a closer look at each announcement.
Qualcomm AI Hub: Details
In the last few months, generative AI has seen exponential growth, especially regarding on-device implementation. Qualcomm wants to help developers with the same through its newly announced Qualcomm AI Hub. It is a library of over 75 AI models optimized for Qualcomm and Snapdragon platforms. These include the likes of Whisper, ControlNet, Stable Diffusion, and Baichuan 7B.
The hub will make it convenient and quicker for developers to integrate on-device AI models within their apps. Qualcomm has claimed the implementation can be done with “a few lines of code” on cloud-hosted devices. With this, developers can expect superior on-device AI performance with low memory utilization and less power consumption.
These AI models are currently available on Qualcomm AI Hub, Github, and Hugging Face. The chipmaker has confirmed that it will add new AI models as well as support for more platforms and operating systems. Qualcomm’s AI Research wing is also demonstrating Large Language and Vision Assistant (LLaVA) on an Android phone.
Qualcomm Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF System: Features, Specifications
The Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF System is Qualcomm’s latest and most powerful 5G modem for smartphones yet. It is touted to be the world’s first 5G modem with fully integrated NB-NTN satellite communications support. It means smartphone makers will not have to opt for a dedicated chip if they wish to offer satellite connectivity.
It further boasts a six-antenna architecture for smartphones, 6X carrier aggregation for sub-6GHz bands, and AI-powered mmWave range extension for fixed wireless access customer premise equipment aka CPE. Qualcomm has opted for a dedicated tensor accelerator for throughput, latency, coverage, power efficiency, quality of service, spectrum efficiency, and mmWave beam management improvements.
The Snapdragon X80 5G Modem-RF System is said to offer a peak download speed of 10Gbps and peak upload speed of 3.5Gbps. Commercial devices powered by the latest 5G modem are expected to launch in the second half of 2024.
Qualcomm FastConnect 7900: Features, Specifications
Qualcomm FastConnect 7900 is a mobile connectivity system that integrates Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth, and Ultra Wideband (UWB) technologies on a single 6nm chip. It is said to be the world’s first system to be able to achieve this.
Like other Qualcomm announcements at MWC, FastConnect 7900 is also AI-powered. It can adapt to different scenarios and surroundings to deliver superior connectivity with improved network latency and power consumption. It offers technologies like Wi-Fi Ranging, Bluetooth Channel Sounding, and UWB for enhanced proximity awareness capabilities.
FastConnect 7900 supports Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, and Wi-Fi 7 with a peak speed of 5.8Gbps. It is compatible with Bluetooth 5.4, Qualcomm aptX audio, spatial audio, and ANT+. FastConnect 7900 is expected to consume 40% less power and will launch commercially in the second half of 2024.
