Qualcomm introduces the world's first 5G NR-light modem-RF system to fuel a new wave of 5G devices

• Snapdragon X35 will expand 5G to a new era of use cases such as premium smartwatches, next-generation XR glasses, industrial IoT, and more.
• Snapdragon X35 features a streamlined architecture to achieve lower cost, reduced complexity, decreased power consumption, and smaller form factors. 

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced Snapdragon® X35 5G Modem-RF System, the world’s first 5G NR-Light modem-RF system. NR-Light, a new class of 5G, fills the gap in between high-speed mobile broadband devices and extremely low-bandwidth NB-IoT devices. NR-Light devices, powered by Snapdragon X35, can be smaller, more cost-efficient, and provide longer battery life than traditional mobile broadband devices.

With its optimised design and breakthrough performance, Snapdragon X35 offers a device platform that bridges the complexity and capability gap between the extremes in 5G today and addresses the need for mid-tier use cases. This lower cost option provides device makers with a long-term migration path to replace LTE CAT4+ devices, ultimately increasing 5G adoption and allowing for faster transition to a unified 5G network.

In addition to Snapdragon X35, Qualcomm Technologies also announced Snapdragon® X32 5G Modem-RF System, a modem-to-antenna solution built to lower complexity and fuel cost-efficient NR-Light devices.

“Snapdragon X35 brings together key 5G breakthroughs expected from the world’s leading wireless innovator,” said Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager, cellular modems and infrastructure, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “The world’s first 5G NR-Light modem features a cost-effective, streamlined design with leading power efficiency, optimised thermal, and reduced footprint. Snapdragon X35 is poised to power the next wave of connected intelligent edge devices and empower a wide spectrum of uses. We look forward to working with industry leaders to unleash what’s possible with a unified 5G platform.”

Key innovations in the Snapdragon X35 5G Modem-RF System include:

World’s first 5G NR-Light modem-RF with a new streamlined architecture

Snapdragon X35, a 3GPP Release 17 RedCap modem with optimised RFIC and PMIC modules, offers OEMs new 5G capabilities to create next-generation devices for a new era of use cases. The flexible, streamlined architecture and high-level modem-RF integration deliver superior power and thermal efficiency while enabling a small form factor design tailored to fit in compact devices.

Expansion of 5G ecosystem to new wave of use cases

Snapdragon X35 brings a unique mix of capabilities in data rates, power consumption, complexity, and reduced footprint needed to cost-effectively enable new use cases such as entry-level industrial IoT devices, mass tier fixed wireless access consumer premise equipment, mass tier connected PCs, and first generation 5G consumer IoT devices like direct-to-cloud glasses and premium wearables.

With support for both LTE and 5G NR-Light, Snapdragon X35 is backwards compatible and future-proof enabling OEMs to develop devices which coexist with a wide range of 4G and 5G device classes helping scale 5G NR-Light services.

Breakthrough performance with advanced Modem-RF feature set

Snapdragon X35 is equipped with advanced modem-RF technologies aimed to significantly reduce power consumption, enhance 5G coverage, lower latency, increase battery life, and improve uplink speeds:

- Qualcomm® QET5100 Envelope Tracking

- Qualcomm® Smart Transmit™ Technology

- Qualcomm® 5G Ultra-Low Latency Suite

- Qualcomm® 5G PowerSave Gen 4

In addition, Snapdragon X35 supports dual-frequency GNSS (L1+L5) to offer precise positioning suited to enable new industrial use cases and applications. With its global RF-band support, Snapdragon X35 supports all spectrum bands within Sub-6GHz, FDD, and TDD, to satisfy the needs of various markets.

These innovations and other improvements in Snapdragon X35 are designed to power a new generation of use cases and applications from entry-level to premium.

Customer sampling of Snapdragon X35 and X32 are expected to begin in the first half of 2023 and commercial mobile devices are expected to be launched by the first half of 2024. For additional details, please visit the Snapdragon X35 webpage.