Qualcomm Technologies has introduced the Snapdragon 865 5G Mobile Platform, which combines an advanced 5G Modem-RF System with a mobile platform to deliver what the company says will be ‘unmatched connectivity and performance required for the next generation of flagship devices’.
The platform’s Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System provides peak speeds of up to 7.5 Gbps, surpassing most wired connections. The 5th generation Qualcomm AI Engine and new Qualcomm Sensing Hub provides more intelligence and personalisation, while the Snapdragon 865 also includes the Spectra 480 Image Signal Processor (ISP), which brings new features to mobile photography and videography with speeds of up to 2 gigapixels per second.
“Snapdragon 865 supports the world’s most advanced 5G connectivity and features, raising the bar for what a mobile device should be,” explained Alex Katouzian, senior vice president and general manager, mobile, Qualcomm Technologies. “It’s the culmination of Qualcomm’s more than 30 years of wireless leadership and innovation.”
The Snapdragon 865’s X55 5G Modem-RF System makes it the first commercial modem-to-antenna 5G solution with peak speeds of up to 7.5 Gbps. The comprehensive Modem-RF System-approach allows advanced technologies such as Qualcomm 5G PowerSave, Smart Transmit technology, Wideband Envelope Tracking technology and Signal Boost to help deliver improved coverage and data speeds along with support for all-day battery life.
This 5G global solution supports all key regions and bands including mmWave and sub-6 in both TDD and FDD frequencies. Plus, it’s compatible with both NSA and SA modes along with Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), global 5G roaming and support for multi-SIM.
In addition to 5G connectivity, the Snapdragon 865 looks to redefine Wi-Fi 6 performance and Bluetooth audio experiences via Qualcomm’s FastConnect 6800 mobile connectivity subsystem.
Extensive Wi-Fi 6 feature innovation means that users can now take advantage of much faster speeds (approaching 1.8 Gbps) and latency, especially in crowded environments with many devices contending on a network.
FastConnect 6800 is also among the first to be designated Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
The introduction of Qualcomm aptX Voice also makes Snapdragon 865 the first mobile platform to wirelessly support Super Wide Band (SWB) voice over Bluetooth for a new class of crystal clear audio, in addition to aptX Adaptive and Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo Plus, reducing latency, increasing battery life and improving link resilience for wireless headphones and earbuds.
The new 5th generation Qualcomm AI Engine and new AI software tools deliver 15 TOPS of AI performance, which is 2x more powerful than its predecessor. At the heart of the Qualcomm AI Engine is a new and improved Hexagon Tensor Accelerator that has 4x the TOPS performance of the previous Tensor Accelerator, while operating at 35% greater power efficiency.
In addition to the Qualcomm AI Engine, the Sensing Hub enables devices to be contextually aware of their surroundings– using extremely low power. Highly accurate voice detection, together with enhanced always-on sensors and intelligent sound recognition brings contextual AI.
An updated Qualcomm Neural Processing SDK, Hexagon NN Direct and Qualcomm AI Model Enhancer tools gives developers greater freedom and flexibility to develop faster and smarter apps.
Devices based on Snapdragon 865 are expected to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2020.
