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Qualcomm has experienced hectic months. In December, the company unveiled the first Snapdragon 855 reference models and demonstrated integration with the 5G X50 modem. It's easy to forget that the X50 modem has been on the market for a long time, as we announced for the first time on the chipset in October 2016.
One of the biggest drawbacks of the X50 modem is that it was an exclusively 5G modem, that is, it only supported the 5G NR communication standards and that it had to be paired with the Snapdragon 855's modem to offer full network compatibility. This has resulted in impractical solutions such as the Moto 5G Mod, which does not represent the most elegant implementation from the point of view of engineering.
Today, Qualcomm is looking to address this major concern with the announcement of the new second generation X55 modem: a complete standalone multi-mode modem solution. The X55 differs from the X50 in that it supports all communication standards, from 2G, 3G, 4G standards to the latest 5G standards, no longer requiring the chip to work in combination with a SoC Snapdragon modem. The 4G capacity of the modem has also been improved, offering speeds of up to 2.5 Gbps for EU LTE Category 22 via 8xCA to 256QAM.
X55: a true global 5G modem
Source: GSMA
One of the most important aspects of the new X55 modem is the fact that it is Qualcomm's first truly global 5G modem. In 5G mmWave, the industry has largely consolidated around three frequency bands: 26, 28 and 39 GHz. The 26 and 28 GHz are the first frontier bands that will be implemented by operators in the coming years. The problem with the first-generation X50 modem is that it only supports the 28 GHz and 39 GHz bands, which will be primarily supported in markets such as North America. The addition of the 26 GHz band in the new X55 opens up vast prospects for other potential markets on other continents, where more and more plans are being considered for deployment with a frequency spectrum starting at 24.5. GHz.
Another very important change in the X55 modem is the fact that it now supports 5G NR frequencies below 6 GHz in FDD mode. Previously, the X50 only supported TDD frequency bands. Again, this may well be the case during the first iterations and deployments of operators, but a frequency spectrum below 800 MHz is only available in duplex FDD mode. It is extremely important to be able to support these lower frequency bands because they offer the best range and the best penetration, and given that, in the next few years, operators will migrate their spectrum towards 5G NR, the taking into account FDD tape load will give X55 modem devices a longevity and a better future proofing It should be noted that the X55 also supports spectrum sharing, which means that 5G and 4G technologies can coexist on the same frequencies.
The new modem is manufactured on a 7nm process node, although Qualcomm has not confirmed whether this means the existing 7nm TSMC node or the new 7LPP EUV node from Samsung.
QTM525 mmWave antenna module: activation of new X55 bands in a finer form factor
Naturally, to be able to support the new 26GHz frequency band, Qualcomm also had to update the RF components. The new QTM525 mmWave antenna module joins the X55 modem, replacing QTM052 from last year.
The new module further enhances its form factor by becoming even narrower than the QTM052: Qualcomm promises to enable phone designs with a thickness of less than 8mm. In terms of spectral capacity, the new module retains the same 2×2 MIMO 800 MHz bandwidth as the QTM052, reaching mmWave band speeds of up to 6 Gbps. Qualcomm can announce 7 Gbps by aggregating bands below 6 GHz on LTE.
New solutions of tracking of envelope and tuning of antenna
We unveil today the announcement of two new RF solutions: the new QET6100 envelope tracking and the new QAT3555 antenna impedance tuner.
The QET6100 is not the first ET 5G solution (ET is also available on the X50 and competing solutions). However, Qualcomm can claim to be the first to support the 100 MHz transfer spectrum, while its predecessor was only capable of 40 MHz. As operators expand the frequency bands, this will be a crucial addition that will improve the battery life of the devices.
The QAT3555 allows for better tuning of the antenna impedance with the multitude of antennas to be used in 5G devices. The antenna impedance setting is able to avoid reception problems when users hold their device in a certain way. This is what was commonly called a "lethal grip" many years ago.
Overall, the X55 modem is, in my opinion, a much more durable and elegant solution than the one presented in the X50. The band and mode limitations of the X50 inherently mean that it will only get limited media from some devices in some markets. The X55 seems to be truly global in its capabilities, and most importantly, it also offers a complete all-in-one solution, which means we could see the modem coupled to non-Qualcomm SoC / CPUs. Qualcomm expects the first commercial X55-based devices to arrive by the end of 2019.
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