Qualcomm calls it the connected intelligent edge, but the launch of the Snapdragon X35 5G Modem-RF, adds some much need communications power to the company’s offerings that could have a positive impact on AR and VR headset designs.
Ostensibly, the Snapdragon X35 bridges the complexity gap between high-speed mobile broadband devices and extremely low-bandwidth IOT devices. The X35 is a first release 17 NR-Light modem, and these devices can be smaller, more cost-efficient, and provide longer battery life than traditional mobile broadband devices, thanks to their reduced complexity. That expands the footprint of 5G into new uses cases like smartwatches and AR glasses, which require a lot of bandwidth and very lower power consumption, as well as simplicity of design to meet the demands of a broad array of form factors.
Qualcomm claims the X35 has superior, ultra-low latency performance, power saving features, and location tracking, ideal for real-time applications such as AR. Customer sampling of Snapdragon X35 is expected to begin in the first half of 2023 and commercial devices are expected to be launched by the first half of 2024.
