Future 5G Phones to Tout New AI Processing Functions: Qualcomm’s Amon
Qualcomm has “line of sight” into 5G smartphones that will launch next year or in 2022, and it estimates more than 700 models are in the design pipeline, President Cristiano Amon told an Axios webinar Tuesday. OEMs are making "significantly" more requests of Qualcomm for new “capabilities in artificial intelligence processing on the devices,” he said. “As you have the high-speed connectivity on 5G and the ability to communicate with the cloud 100% of the time, you’re also bringing the possibility of doing a lot of machine learning.”
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Qualcomm publicly demonstrated real-time translation as one example of that capability, and “we’re making a lot of progress on that,” Amon said. It also expects to add more machine learning to smartphone cameras, he said. He predicted 5G smartphone form factors will change, including through the use of bigger screens. Qualcomm estimates 95 network operators globally have deployed 5G commercially, and more than 300 more are investing in 5G for future deployments, said Amon. The “device ecosystem has already switched to 5G,” he said. “We’re seeing one of the fastest transitions in all of the Gs in wireless technology. This one is going to be very transformative.”
5G millimeter-wave can bring high-capacity wireless broadband access to urban, suburban and rural homes -- and enterprises -- blogged Alejandro Holcman, Qualcomm senior vice president-engineering services group, Tuesday. Thirty-seven out of 94 operators with commercial 5G networks offer fixed wireless access services, and more than 80 FWA products are in design or development from over 30 OEMs using Qualcomm solutions, Holcman said. He referenced a recent demonstration with Ericsson of extended-range 5G mmWave FWA in a commercial network, where it achieved 100-plus Mbps data rates over 3 miles, showing it can be used to deliver "fast, reliable, and cost-efficient connectivity to rural and often underserved areas -- taking a significant stride to bridge the digital divide."
Commercial 5G mmWave service is available in over 55 U.S. cities and 160 areas in Japan, and mmWave-enabled devices include smartphones, laptops, hot spots and fixed wireless access customer premise equipment. Qualcomm is also positioning 5G mmWave for industrial settings, where it can provide high system capacity for bandwidth-demanding use cases including HD video streaming and augmented/virtual reality.
Working with an industrial customer and mobile operator in an initial deployment, Qualcomm achieved downlink throughput of 1.5 Gbps and 120 Mbps on uplink, Holcman said. He cited a deployment study by GSMA Intelligence, indicating 5G mmWave can be a cost-effective deployment strategy to deliver an additional capacity layer in dense urban areas in China and Europe; in urban, suburban and rural areas if 5G FWA networks can capture a significant percentage of the high-traffic residential broadband market; and in offices, where an indoor 5G mmWave deployment in a large office space could generate cost savings of 5%-20%.