Qualcomm QCC730M dual-band WiFi 4 and QCC74xM WiFi 6, BLE 5.3, and 802.15.4 modules target low-power and IoT edge devices

Qualcomm has added two new IoT modules to its wireless connectivity product series: the Qualcomm QCC730M ‘micro-power’ WiFi 4 module and the QCC74xM tri-radio module, with both modules designed for smart homes, smart appliances, medical devices, and industrial applications.

The Qualcomm QCC730M is a dual-band, micro-power Wi-Fi 4 module with a 60MHz Arm Cortex-M4F MCU, 640kB SRAM, 1.5MB RRAM, hardware crypto accelerator, and secure boot, debug, and storage. Its low-power design is ideal for portable, battery-powered IoT devices like IP cameras, sensors, and smart locks. Based on the Qualcomm QCC730 module, it features a 36-pin LGA package with a PCB antenna or RF connector and supports up to 4MB of optional NOR flash.

The Qualcomm QCC74xM is Qualcomm’s “first programmable connectivity module,” integrating a 32-bit RISC-V module, optional stacked memory (PSRAM and NOR flash), and a tri-radio chipset for WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and IEEE 802.15.4 (Thread and Zigbee). Its all-in-one design makes it a cost-effective, single-chip solution for IoT edge devices. It is based on the Qualcomm QCC740 but comes in the LGA form factor and offers more peripheral interfaces.

Both chipsets support hostless and hosted operations. The QCC740, in particular, is capable of running the protocol stack and IoT applications independently without an external MCU.

Qualcomm QCC730M specifications:

CPU – Arm Cortex-M4F @ 60MHz with floating-point unit
Memory/Storage
- 1.5MB RRAM (600KB for applications)
- 640KB SRAM (260KB for applications)
- XiP over QSPI flash
- Up to 4MB NOR flash (optional)
Wi-Fi
- Standards: 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11a
- Spectral Bands: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz
- Channels: 20 MHz
- Antenna Configuration: 1×1
- Features: up to MCS3
Interfaces – 36 pins
- 15x GPIO (muxed),
- SPI (slave), QSPI (master), I2C (master), UART (2-wire)
- Wakeup, VBAT, GND, FEM Signaling
Security
- Hardware crypto accelerator
- Secure Boot, Cryptographic Accelerator, Qualcomm Trusted Execution Environment & Services, Secure debug
Package – 36-pin LGA module package, all module variants are pin-compatible
- iPA: 12.28 x 19.8 x 2.6 mm (PCB Antenna), 12.28 x 14.8 x 2.2 mm (RF Connector)
- xPA: 12.28 x 23.0 x 2.6 mm (PCB Antenna), 12.28 x 18.0 x 2.6 mm (RF Connector)

Qualcomm QCC74xM specifications:

CPU – 32-bit RISC-V @ 325 MHz with DSP and FPU
Memory/Storage
- 128 KB ROM, 4Kb eFuse and 1/2/4KB OTP
- 484 KB on-chip SRAM (32 KB I-Cache and 16 KB D-Cache)
- 4/8/16 MB PSRAM SiP (optional)
- 4/8 MB NOR flash SiP (optional)
Network
- Wi-Fi 6, 802.11b/g/n/ax, 1×1 antenna configuration
- Bluetooth 5.3
- IEEE 802.15.4 (Thread and Zigbee)
- PCB antenna or RF connector
Interfaces – 32 and 46-pin LGA module pads
- Up to 35x GPIO (muxed)
- SD/MCC/SF, SDIO, QSPI, SPI, I2C, I2S
- UART, PWM, ADC/DAC, CAN, RMII
- USB, VDD, GND
Security
- Hardware crypto accelerator
- Secure Boot, Cryptographic Accelerator, Qualcomm Trusted Execution Environment & Services, Secure debug
- PSA Certified Level One
Package
- 32-pin LGA module; 12.28 x 17.28 x 2.4 mm (PCB antenna), 12.28 x 12.28 x 2.4 mm (RF)
- 46-pin LGA module; 14.82 x 23.63 x 2.4 mm (PCB antenna), 14.82 x 18.63 x 2.4 mm (RF)

The modules are precertified to reduce time to market and ease integration. Qualcomm also provides an open-source, FreeRTOS-based SDK and a VSCode-based IDE for ease of development. The company also intends to release associated development kits for the modules at an unspecified time.

The QCC730M dual-band Wi-Fi 4 module and QCC74xM tri-radio module are now available as samples, and commercial availability is planned for the first half of 2025. The press release and Qualcomm WiFi products page provide more information.

Via Hackster.io

Tomisin Olujinmi

Tomisin is a writer specializing in hardware product reviews, comparisons, and explainers. He is very passionate about small form factor and single-board computers.