Qualcomm can already achieve peak download speed of 1.2 Gbps over 4G cellular network in Snapdragon 845 processor thanks to its Snapdragon X20 LTE modem, but the company has been working on an even faster modem with Snapdragon X24 modem support LTE Cat.20 download speed of up to 2 Gbps. That’s even faster than Gigabit Ethernet, at least in theory, as with all wireless technologies you can only achieve the maximum throughput in the lab, and upload speeds will be lower – but still decent – at up to 316 Mbps. You’d also have to find a Telco that can handle such speeds. Qualcomm X24 cellular modem specifications: LTE Category – 20 Downlink Features 7×20 MHz carrier aggregation Up to 4×4 MIMO on five carriers Maximum 20 spatial streams Full-Dimension MIMO (FD-MIMO) Up to 256-QAM Peak Download Speed – 2 Gbps Uplink Features Qualcomm Snapdragon Upload+ 3×20 MHz carrier aggregation […]
Qualcomm Developer’s Guide to Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Qualcomm has many terms like ML (Machine Learning), DL (Deep Learning), CNN (Convolutional Neural Network), ANN (Artificial Neural Networks), etc.. and is currently made possible via frameworks such as TensorFlow, Caffe2 or ONNX (Open Neural Network Exchange). If you have not looked into details, all those terms may be confusions, so Qualcomm Developer Network has released a 9-page e-Book entitled “A Developer’s Guide to Artificial Intelligence (AI)” that gives an overview of all the terms, what they mean, and how they differ. For example, they explain that a key difference between Machine Learning and Deep Learning is that with ML, the input features of the CNN are determined by humans, while DL requires less human intervention. The book also covers that AI is moving to the edge / on-device for low latency, and better reliability, instead of relying on the cloud. It also quickly go through the workflow using Snapdragon […]
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Octa Core Kryo 385 SoC to Power Premium Smartphones, XR Headsets, Windows Laptops
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor was expected since May 2017 with four custom Cortex A75 cores, four Cortex A53 cores, Adreno 630 GPU, and X20 LTE modem. with the launch planned for Q1 2018. At least, that what the leaks said. Qualcomm has now formally launched Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform and rumors were mostly right, as the the octa-core processor comes with four Kryo 385 Gold cores (custom Cortex A75), four Kryo 385 Silver cores (custom Cortex A55) leveraging DynamIQ technology, an Adreno 630 “Visual Processing System”, and Snapdragon X20 modem supporting LTE Cat18/13. The processor is said to use more advanced artificial intelligence (AI) allowing what the company calls “extended reality (XR)” applications, and will soon be found in flagship smartphones, XR headsets, mobile PCs, and more. Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (SDM845) specifications: Processor 4x Kryo 385 Gold performance cores @ up to 2.80 GHz (custom ARM Cortex A75 cores) 4x […]
Meet the First Windows 10 Arm “Always Connected PCs” – HP Envy x2 (2017) and ASUS NovaGo TP370
Qualcomm and Microsoft showcased some Snapdragon 835 based Windows 10 “Mobile PCs” at Computex 2017 last June, and while the press was allowed film the demo, the device could only be operated by a Qualcomm employee. But both companies and their partners have made progress, and at the Snapdragon Technology Summit, Qualcomm announced “Always Connected PCs” which will run Windows 10, be always on and always connected at Gigabit LTE speeds, and support all-day battery life while keeping thin and fanless designs. all while incorporating Windows 10. HP and ASUS unveiled their very own “Always Connected PCs”, respectively Envy X2 and Novago TP370. What I used to call laptop or in this case 2-in-1 hybrid (laptop) is now apparently called “Always Connected PC”, but in any case let’s have a closer look at both devices. HP Envy x2 (2017) Specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Mobile Processor @ 2.6GHz with Adreno […]
Qualcomm Centriq 2400 ARM SoC Launched for Datacenters, Benchmarked against Intel Xeon SoCs
Qualcomm Centriq 2400 ARM Server-on-Chip has been four years in the making. The company announced sampling in Q4 2016 using 10nm FinFET process technology with the SoC featuring up to 48 Qualcomm Falkor ARMv8 CPU cores optimized for datacenter workloads. More recently, Qualcomm provided a few more details about the Falkor core, fully customized with a 64-bit only micro-architecture based on ARMv8 / Aarch64. Finally, here it is as the SoC formally launched with the company announcing commercial shipments of Centriq 2400 SoCs. Qualcom Centriq 2400 key features and specifications: CPU – Up to 48 physical ARMv8 compliant 64-bit only Falkor cores @ 2.2 GHz (base frequency) / 2.6 GHz (peak frequency) Cache – 64 KB L1 instructions cache with 24 KB single-cycle L0 cache, 512 KB L2 cache per duplex; 60 MB unified L3 cache; Cache QoS Memory – 6 channels of DDR4 2667 MT/s for up to 768 […]
Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Delivers Up to 40% Better Performance Over Snapdragon 630, Supports FHD+ Displays
Qualcomm has announced a new “Mobile Platform” with Snapdragon 636 that combines eight Kryo 260 cores, an Adreno 509 GPU, and X12 LTE modem for “high quality devices with top-level features at a low price point”, which must mean “mid range”. The new Snapdragon 636 offers an update to Snapdragon 630 / 660 solutions released last year with up to 40% performance boost, 10% faster 3D graphics, and support for ultra-wide FHD+ displays (18:9 aspect ratio). Key features for Snapdragon 636: CPU – 8x Qualcomm Kryo 260 cores clocked at up to 1.8 GHz GPU – Adreno 509 with support for OpenGL ES 3.2, OpenCL 2.0 full,Vulkan, DX12 DSP – Hexagon 680 DSP with All-Ways Aware Technology, Neural Processing Engine SDK, Caffe/Caffe2 and Tensorflow support Memory I/F – LPDDR4/4X, dual channel up to 1333MHz, 8GB RAM Storage I/F – eMMC and UFS flash Display – Up to 2160×1080 FHD+ resolution; […]
Mediatek Helio X20 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 – 3D Graphics Benchmarks and CSR2 Game
I’ve been using Vernee Apollo Lite smartphone with a Mediatek Helio X20 deca-core ARM Cortex A72/A53 processor coupled with an ARM for a little over a year. Recently, I’ve received Xiaomi Mi A1 smartphone for a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC featuring eight ARM Cortex A53 cores and an Adreno 506 GPU. In theory, the latter is a downgrade, and the Xiaomi phone is indeed quite slower in Antutu with overall score of 60,161 points against 85,840 points in the Mediatek phone. 3D graphics performance is also lower with 12,849 vs 17,828 points. Both smartphone have the same resolution (1920×1080), so it’s a little confusing to be told you’d “better to play games in low quality mode” for the Mediatek phone, and “game performance is mid-level” for the Snapdragon one. But anyway Helio 20 should work better in 3D games than Snapdragon 625 if we are to believe the numbers. Most […]
Snapdragon X50 5G Modem Makes it First Data Connection
5G technology is expected to launch in 2019, and Qualcomm has recently made a step towards this goal with the company announcing their first 5G data connection with Snapdragon X50 modem on on 28GHz mmWave Spectrum. The demonstration took place in Qualcomm Technologies’ laboratories in San Diego, and achieved Gigabit download speeds using several 100 MHz 5G carriers. Snapdragon X50 5G Modem’s product page lists some of the key features of the chip: Up to 5 gigabits per second download speeds Initial support for operation in the 28 GHz millimeter wave band. It can connect using up to 800 MHz of bandwidth via 8×100 MHz carrier aggregation. Supports advanced multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) techniques such as adaptive beamforming and beam tracking Composed of the modem as well as the SDR051 mmWave transceiver The modem can be paired with a Snapdragon processor to provide multi-mode 4G/5G capability, and the company […]