Qualcomm is working hard to bring 5G to the market and its efforts took a step forward as the company conducted the first 5G test on a mobile device.
Qualcomm announced the X50 5G mobile modem about a year ago. It was the first-gigabit modem ever made for a mobile device. The company conducted the test on the same device and achieved a full gigabit speed. Qualcomm says that once full 5G deployments are completed, the speed will reach up to 5Gbps.
Qualcomm also announced its first 5G smartphone reference design. It will use this design to test the 5G modems and networks with the smartphone makers in a year as 5G is expected to launch at the start of 2019. The reference design under discussion is 9mm thick and features a bezel-less display as most of the smartphones are nowadays.
Here is the Qualcomm reference design:
In addition to 5G testing, Qualcomm also announced a series of components that will support T-Mobile’s new 600MHz spectrum. Currently, only the LG V30 supports the new spectrum and Qualcomm wants to make sure that more devices can support the new spectrum before the end of this year.
Qualcomm also announced the new Snapdragon 636 chipset. It is an entry-level chipset and is the successor of the Snapdragon 630. It is a 14nm chipset and is 40 percent faster than the Snapdragon 630. The Snapdragon 636 supports up to 600 Mbps LTE and 24-megapixel cameras. The chip will also support ultrawide FHD+ displays. It is expected to begin shipping in November and will take some time before it shows in a smartphone.
A few months ago, Anusha Rahman, the State Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication of Pakistan, stated that Pakistan will become the first country to test the 5G network and its technology followed by being the first Asian country to launch it.
