Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon X55 Second Generation 5G Modem

Several 5G smartphones based on Snapdragon 855 processor and Snapdragon X50 5G modem have been announced, but AFAIK none have shipped to end users. But Qualcomm has already announced their second generation 5G NR (New Radio) modem with Snapdragon X55, which the company claims is “the world’s most advanced commercial multimode 5G modem”.

Manufactured with a 7-nm process, Snapdragon X55 is a single-chip modem that supports 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G NR mmWave and sub-6 GHz spectrum bands with up to 7 Gbps download speeds and 3 Gbps upload speeds over 5G, and up to 2.5 Gbps download speeds over LTE (Category 22)

The model supports TDD and FDD modes, is capable of Standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) network deployments, and can handle dynamic spectrum sharing delivering both 4G & 5G services dynamically.

The Snapdragon X55 5G modem pairs with the new QTM525 5G mmWave antenna module, as well as a new single-chip 14nm RF transceiver and sub-6 GHz RF front-end modules for 5G and LTE.

The modem will not only be found in 5G smartphones, but a wide range of devices including mobile hotspots, always connected PCs, laptops, tablets, fixed wireless access points, extended reality devices, and automotive applications.

More detailed specifications:

• 5G
  • 5G Technology – 5G NR
  • 5G Spectrum – mmWave, sub-6 GHz, 5G/4G spectrum sharing
  • 5G Modes – FDD, TDD, SA (standalone), NSA (non-standalone)
  • 5G mmWave specs – 800 MHz bandwidth, 8 carriers, 2×2 MIMO
  • 5G sub-6 GHz specs – 200 MHz bandwidth, 4×4 MIMO
  • 5G Peak Speed – DL: 7 Gbps; UL: 3 Gbps
  • 5G RF: 100 MHz envelope tracking, Adaptive antenna tuning
• 4G
  • Downlink – 7×20 MHz carrier aggregation; 4×4 MIMO; 24 LTE streams; up to 1024-QAM; up to 2.5 Gbps speed
  • Uplink – 3×20 MHz carrier aggregation; Data Compression (UDC); up to 316 Mbps speed
• Cellular Technology
  • WCDMA (DB-DC-HSDPA, DC-HSUPA), TD-SCDMA, CDMA 1x, EV-DO, GSM/EDGE
  • LTE FDD, LTE TDD including CBRS support, LAA, LTE Broadcast
  • 5G NR FDD, 5G NR TDD, SA, NSA
• RF – RFFE: 5G adaptive antenna tuning, 5G envelope tracking

Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 is already sampling to customers, and devices featuring the new 5G modem should start selling by the end of the year. Visit the product page for more information.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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