Qualcomm announced the launch of the Snapdragon X75 5G modem and RF system, which is also the world's first "5G Advanced-ready" baseband product, supports ten-carrier aggregation, and promises to achieve 10Gbps downlink speed in Wi-Fi 7 and 5G. 5G Advanced-ready is between 5G and 6G, and is also called "5.5G" by the industry. It will achieve better results in upgrading the XR field, Internet of Vehicles, and 5G uplink communication capabilities. The Snapdragon X75 is currently sampling, and commercial terminals are expected to be released in the second half of 2023. Snapdragon X75 technology and innovation empower OEMs to create next-generation experiences across segments including smartphones, mobile broadband, automotive, computing, industrial IoT, fixed wireless access (FWA)

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem is the official successor to the Snapdragon X70 modem due in 2022 and is expected to be used in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 smartphones. The modem offers a number of upgrades, the most notable of which is a 20% increase in power efficiency.

The new modem is understood to include full band support from 600MHz to 41GHz. In this baseband chip, mmWave hardware (QTM565) is fused with Sub-6 hardware. This puts all 5G connectivity on one module. This offers simpler manufacturing, with some chips taking up to 25 percent less physical area, Qualcomm says. Additionally, putting mmWave/Sub-6 on a single chip can provide up to a 20% improvement in energy efficiency over the X70. The new QTM565 mmWave antenna module paired with fused transceivers reduces cost, board complexity, hardware footprint and power consumption. On this basis, Qualcomm's 5G PowerSave Gen 4 and its RF efficiency suite also aim to further extend battery life.

In other ways, the chip's artificial intelligence has also been greatly enhanced. The Snapdragon X75 is also the first modem system to have a dedicated hardware tensor accelerator. Compared with the first-generation chip in last year's X70, the second generation of Qualcomm's 5G artificial intelligence processor promises to increase AI performance by 2.5 times, which means that the optimal frequency can be selected more intelligently for the best connection. Qualcomm claims a 50 percent improvement in positioning accuracy thanks to GNSS Positioning Gen 2. This not only reduces power consumption, but also improves the stability of the connection. This is complemented by a new second-generation Smart Network option.

Qualcomm says the Snapdragon X75 will arrive alongside its next flagship chip, hinting at a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. Globally, the Snapdragon X75 baseband is expected to be used in flagship phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S24 series.