At the 2022 edition of the Mobile World Congress, Qualcomm announced a slew of new technologies ranging from the world's first Wi-Fi 7 solution, to building upon its suite of automotive technologies. Here are all the big announcements Qualcomm made at MWC 2022.
Snapdragon Compute for next-generation of enterprise PC's
Building on a previous CES 2022, where the company had revealed that over 200 enterprise partners were testing Windows 11 on Snapdragon laptops and convertibles, Qualcomm announced fresh partnerships with Microsoft, Lenovo and more enterprise brands who will be delivering Snapdragon-powered PC's to the B2B market.
Lenovo's ThinkPad X13 will be the first laptop on the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 compute platform, with 5G mmWave connectivity, 28 hours of battery life and a light, fan-less design.
With Microsoft, the partnership will provide enhanced developer tools that will let software developers take full advantage of Snapdragon's compute platform. Qualcomm's secure processing units on the SoC's will also integrate Microsoft technologies like the Windows 11 based Pluton Security Solution that will securely store sensitive data, directly on the chip of managed enterprise systems.
Qualcomm said their strategic partnerships with global channel partners and resellers will help expand availability of Snapdragon Compute powered enterprise PC's.
Qualcomm FastConnect 7800: World's first commercial Wi-Fi 7 solution
The chip-maker announced the FastConnect 7800, an advanced connectivity solution that combines ultra-low latency Wi-Fi with the latest Wi-Fi 7 specification, and advanced bluetooth audio advancements that the company says will, "raise the bar on consumer expectations for sound quality."
High-band Simultaneous (HBS) Multi-Link technology on the chip allows Qualcomm to tap into the full potential of both 5GHz and 6GHz connections, "to deliver the highest throughput and lowest sustained latency, while reserving high-traffic 2.4GHz spectrum for Bluetooth and lower-bandwidth Wi-Fi."
Snapdragon Connect Certification
The certification program will put a Snapdragon Connect badge on compatible devices, that the company says will ship with best-in-class 5G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth technologies to ensure reliable connections with the ability to deliver, "multi-gigabit speeds."
"Whether it’s with a smartphone, laptop, VR/AR headset, or connected car," said Qualcomm in a press content. "Devices featuring Snapdragon Connect will deliver extremely fast download and upload speeds."
Qualcomm says that the low-latency, high-bandwidth connectivity Snapdragon Connect certified products can provide, allows for enhanced experiences in gaming, XR, and edge computing. The devices will also be power efficient.
Qualcomm S3 and S5 Sound Platforms with Snapdragon Sound
Qualcomm says the new sound platforms will offer OEMs broad flexibility for device customisation at different price tiers, and both sound technologies support 16-bit 44.1kHz CD Lossless Bluetooth Audio, 24-bit 96kHz high resolution Bluetooth sound, 32kHz wideband voice call quality, the ability to record in stereo and Gaming mode that will have 68ms low-latency audio.
Besides this, is support for multi-point Bluetooth wireless connectivity and third generation Qualcomm Adaptive Noise Cancellation.
Connectivity-as-a-service for Snapdragon Car-to-Cloud Services
Building on the announcement of Snapdragon Digital Chassis platform at CES 2022, Qualcomm announced a new Connectivity-as-a-service feature that allows for a highly customised user experience on future automotives.
In conjunction with Snapdragon Car-to-Cloud Services, they expand system performance on digital dashboards for future cars and provide advanced telemetry data and insights on connected devices. These tools will allow developers to solve for complexities of building connected services on telemetric devices.
Snapdragon X70 Modem-RF system with 5G AI Processor
Qualcomm unveiled the world's first 5G AI processor based modem-rf system that the company says will enable breakthroughs in speeds and power efficiency. The goal is to the power the future of 5G connected Intelligent Edge systems and drive Edge computing.
The company says its chip can reach 5G speeds up to 10 Gigabit and provide greater coverage and power efficiency. The AI-based optimisation ensures improve sub-6 GHz and mmWave 5G speeds and link robustness to power the next generation of edge computing.
New turnkey 5G Modules - X65 and X65 5G M.2 - for PC's
Developed in collaboration with Foxconn and Quectel, these chips enable 5G networks on laptops and computers, meant to drive 5G adoption in PC's.
“Qualcomm Technologies is making an intelligently connected world possible through our leadership in connectivity and high-performance, low-power computing. This announcement of the Snapdragon X65 and X62 5G M.2 Modules is further evidence that we are committed to enabling the ecosystem and proliferating the 5G opportunity beyond smartphones,” said Gautam Sheoran, vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
“We’re committed to leading the proliferation of 5G beyond smartphones and remaining at the edge of innovation, providing our customers with premium speed, reliability and deployment time,” he added.
Qualcomm's 5G network deployment and RAN automation partner program
The chip-maker's new partner program will make it easier for to deploy private, RAN-based 5G networks. Qualcomm stressed that it uses a repeatable, and streamlined process that allows optimise network coverage and capacity, with zero-touch provisioning and automatic configurations for systems.
The system also uses horizontal deployment across RAN and partner components.
It also announced a partnership with Microsoft to deliver a chip-based, cloud to cloud solution for private, enterprise networks. The Microsoft Azure-based multi-access edge computing system, allows deployment of pre-validated, end-to-end private 5G networks that Qualcomm says will reduce costs and offer hardware choices to speed up deployments for network operators and enterprises.
