Qualcomm’s next flagship mobile chip will feature 5G connectivity

Qualcomm Technologies announced today that its next major flagship chip for smartphones will be able to be paired with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50 5G modem for a super-fast mobile data connection, while also being smaller than ever before.

This new chip — assumed to be the Snapdragon 855 — will feature a system-on-chip built on the 7-nanometer process node. That should mean that this new chip will be smaller, faster, and more power efficient than this year’s extremely powerful Snapdragon 845. While the Snapdragon X50 5G modem isn’t new tech — it released in 2016 — this will be the first time it’s been used in smartphones, and Qualcomm expects it to be the first 5G-capable mobile platform for premium flagship smartphones.

Qualcomm has stated that sample tests are already underway with multiple companies, and it expects to see real progress made in making 5G available over this year and the next.

“We are very pleased to be working with OEMs, operators, infrastructure vendors, and standards bodies across the world, and are on track to help launch the first 5G mobile hotspots by the end of 2018, and smartphones using our next-generation mobile platform in the first half of 2019,” said Cristiano Amon, President of Qualcomm Incorporated.

What’s all the fuss about 5G? 5G represents the next major step in mobile internet, and while there’s a lot of technobabble surrounding this new standard, the upshot is that 5G-capable smartphones will be able to download, browse, and stream at much higher speeds than 4G. 5G-capable smartphones will likely start dropping in earnest from next year, but we’ve already seen something of what to expect — the Moto Z3 has an optional 5G Moto Mod that will allow it to use the new standard when it’s available,

Outside of this announcement, Qualcomm has been coy about the specifics of this flagship “flagchip,” if you will. As mentioned, we fully expect this chip will be the Snapdragon 855, and we expect it will be a key component of the next generation of premium flagships, including the Samsung Galaxy S10, LG G8 ThinQ, and other powerful smartphones in 2019. Full details regarding this chip will be released in the fourth quarter of 2018, just in time for the next generation of powerful smartphones.

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