Catering to the growing demand for high-speed data access, Qualcomm[1] has unveiled the Snapdragon X24 as its newest LTE modem for mobile devices. The new modem is specifically designed to deliver peak download speeds of a whopping 2Gbps, which is twice the speed you can presently get from a fibre broadband service[2]. It is also the world’s first 7nm process chip - making room for battery-efficient results. While Qualcomm is aiming to bring the Snapdragon X24 commercially in the end of 2018, we probably need to wait for some more time, with premium devices in 2019 likely to come with the new modem alongside the Snapdragon X50 5G NR[3] modem to offer multi-mode connectivity.
What makes the Snapdragon X24 LTE modem announcement interesting is certainly the 2Gbps download speeds claim. However, there are several features that distinguish the latest development from all the existing mobile modems, including the Snapdragon X20[4] that will come into reality[5] with the launch of the Snapdragon 845[6] SoC very soon. The Snapdragon X20 is claimed to deliver download speeds of up to 1.2Gbps and is built on the commonly found 10nm process. The Snapdragon X24, on the other hand, is a future-ready modem - setting the ground for 5G connectivity.
Qualcomm reveals[7] that the Snapdragon X24 supports up to seven carrier aggregation. This means you can expect a significant increase in the bandwidth as well as an uplifted bitrate over what you can receive from a modem that supports six carrier aggregation, such as the latest Samsung LTE modem that will be a part of[8] the Galaxy S9[9] series through the Exynos 9810...