MWC is just around the corner, and Qualcomm is here to kick things off with the announcement of its new Snapdragon X75 modem. The company says that this chipset is ready to support 5G Advanced, "the next phase of 5G". The big step forward here is the inclusion of a hardware tensor accelerator for improved artificial intelligence performance, though that's not all. This modem also boasts improved power consumption, the world's first 10-carrier aggregation, and a commitment to 10Gbps downlink speeds in both Wi-Fi 7 and 5G.

The Snapdragon X75 is built using a new modem-to-antenna architecture and packs a number of innovations done for the first time by the company. The new QTM565 mmWave antenna module is paired with a converged transceiver reduces cost, board complexity, hardware footprint, and energy consumption. On top of that, Qualcomm's 5G PowerSave Gen 4 and its RF Efficiency Suite also work to extend battery life further.

"5G Advanced will take connectivity to a whole new level, fueling the new reality of the Connected Intelligent Edge,” said Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager, cellular modems and infrastructure at Qualcommm. “Snapdragon X75 Modem-RF System demonstrates the full breadth of our global 5G leadership, with innovations such as hardware accelerated AI and the support for upcoming 5G Advanced capabilities, which unlock a whole new level of 5G performance and a new phase in cellular communications.”

However, the big step forward with the Snapdragon X75 modem is its use of AI to improve speeds, coverage, mobility, link robustness, and location accuracy. Its 5G AI suite also helps power the first sensor-assisted mmWave beam management alongside AI-based GNSS Location Gen 2. There's also support for 5G/4G Dual Data on two SIM cards simultaneously.

The Snapdragon X75 modem is expected to arrive in the latter half of 2023 and will very likely be the modem in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Qualcomm also announced the Snapdragon X72 modem aimed at mainstream adoption of mobile broadband applications.