Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 vs. X55: Next year's ultra-fast 5G ...

The X55 is able to connect to both types of network but not at the same time. The X60 breaks that barrier and can aggregate millimeter-wave and ... ShopHolidaydealsat:Amazon|Walmart|BestBuy|Dell|Samsung Forums Shop ToggleSearch Android12 Pixel6 GalaxyS21 BestChromebook BestWirelessEarbuds Source:Qualcomm Whenitcomestonewtechnology,there'sanaturaltimelinethatseemstohappen.Thefirstgenerationfeelslikeaproofofconceptandoffersenoughtogetusinterested,thesecondgenerationworksoffixingflawsandrefiningthebasics,andthethirdgenerationiswhenitismatureenoughthatyoureallywanttohaveit. Qualcomm'sSnapdragonX605Gmodemisjustthat:thethirdgenerationofthecompany's5Gmodemsandit'sreadyforprimetime.ComparedtotheX50(first-generation)andX55(second-generation)it'ssetuptomakeconsiderablybetteruseof5Gnetworksinwaysthatwewillnotice. Smallerisbetter Source:Qualcomm TheX50wasbuiltona10-nanometerprocessandtheX55wasbuiltona7-nanometermanufacturingprocess.WiththeX60,Qualcommsaysithasmovedforwardanditwillbebuiltusinga5-nanometermanufacturingprocess. 5nmchipsaresohardtobuildthattheybrokeMoore'sLaw. You'veprobablyheardpeopletalkaboutmanufacturingprocessesandnanometersandwhatitallmeans.Inanutshell,newtechallowsthetransistorsandotherpartsusedinsideamicroprocessortobepackedmoredensely.Whenyoucandothis,yougetachipthatcandooneoftwothings:uselesspowertodothesameworktheolderchipcoulddo,ordoalotmoreusingthesameamountofpowerastheolderchip. Achipbuiltusingthe5nmprocessliketheX60woulduse15%lesspowertodothesameamountofworkachipbuiltusingthe7nmprocessliketheX55. Achipbuiltusingthe5nmprocessliketheX60wouldbeabletodo30%moreworkusingthesameamountofpowerasachipbuiltusingthe7nmprocessliketheX55. Moreimportantly,whenitcomestosmallportabledeviceslikesmartphones,isthatthephysicalsizeofthechipissmaller.ThatmeansphonemakerslikeSamsungcanmakeasmallerphoneorusetheextraspacetoaddsomethinglikealargerbattery. TheX60willdomorethantheX55could,butitshouldn'tneedtorunatfullpowerallthetimesoitwillsavebattery.Biggerbatteriesfromdevicemanufacturersaresomethingwecansurelyhopefor,butIamguessinginsteadwewillseethinner5GphoneswhentheX60comestothemarketinstead. Fasterisbetter Source:AndroidCentral Youmightbeoldenoughtorememberthedrasticspeeddifferencesbetween3GnetworksandtrueLTEnetworksfromafewyearsago.5Goffersthesametypeofleapinthespeeddepartment,butthegearhasn'tbeenabletotakefulladvantageofitjustyet.Well,theX60changesthat. WithtruemmWaveandSub-6aggregation,theX60isgoingtomake5Greallyfast. TheX50couldconnecttoeitheramillimeter-wavenetwork(likeVerizon's)orasub-6GHznetwork(likeSprint's),butnotboth.TheX55isabletoconnecttobothtypesofnetworkbutnotatthesametime.TheX60breaksthatbarrierandcanaggregatemillimeter-waveandsub-6GHznetworksaswellasaggregatemultipletypesofsub-6Ghznetworksallatonce.ThatmeanstheX60cancombineadatastreamfromdifferentnetworkfrequencieswhichresultsinhigherspeedsandbandwidth. More:Sprint's5GnetworksolvesacoverageproblembutlacksVerizon'sridiculoustopspeeds Considerarealisticscenarioonce5Gbecomesmorecommonplace:yourcarrierhasnearbymillimeter-wavesmallcellsitesandyou'realsointherangeofatowerusingFDDandTDDSub-6datastreams.AphonewithanX50modemcanonlyconnecttooneofthoseoptions.AphonewithanX55modemcanconnecttoanyofthem,butonlyoneatatime.TheX60justconnectstoeverythingallatonce. Thisdoestwothingsthatareimportant:itallowsustoactuallycomeclosetothepeak7.5Gbpsspeeds5Ghastoofferwhenweareinaluckysituationwhereeverythingisavailable,anditallowscarrierssomefreedomtomoveexistingnon-standalone5Gtowerstothenewerstandalonemodewithoutmuchofadisruption. CarrierCustomizationisbetter Source:Qualcomm TheX60modemcanalreadyconnecttoalmostall5Gsignalsworldwide,butQualcommalsooffersachoiceofantennamodules.Theexistingantennamoduleusedincurrentdevicesiscompatiblewithallconnections,butthenewerversionissmallerandoffersimprovedmillimeter-waveperformanceforthefrequenciesusedinNorthAmerica,Europe,Japan,andSouthKorea. Explaining5G:Millimeterwave,sub-6,low-bandandothertermsyouneedtoknow WhenyouexcludeChina—whichisfocusingonmid-bandfrequenciesfornow—thatcoversthemajorityofuserswhobuyintopremiumdevices.Since5Gdevicesareconsideredpremium(fornow,atleast)itallowscompaniestobuildphonescompatibleinmostoftheworldbutspecificallytailoredforthosemarketswherethephonesaremostlikelytobesold.Italsomeansyour5Gphoneshouldbe5Gonjustaboutanybusinesstripthatisn'tboundforChina. Carrierslovetosellcustomphones. Lastly,theX60ispartofafull5Gmodem-RFsystemthatincludesalltheradiocomponents.Regulatorsdon'tlikethattypeofbusiness,andphonemakerstendtowishthepackagewascheaper,butitalsomeansthatalltheradiosinsidethephoneweredesignedtoworktogetheranduselesspower.Forus,itmeanslessbatterydrainandweallwantlessbatterydrainfromourdevices. So,when? Source:AndrewMartonik/AndroidCentral TSMCandSamsungarebothcapableofmanufacturing5nmchipsrightnow,thoughtherehaven'tbeenanylarge-scaletestsoftheprocess.Expecttheproductionofthechipstostartin2020andweshouldseetheX60pairedwiththenextgenerationofSnapdragonchipinearly2021. LookforphoneswiththeX60in2021,probablystartingwiththeGalaxyS30. There'snowordonanybackwardcompatibility,soit'sexpectedthatphoneswiththeX60willalsobeusingtheSnapdragon875.Mid-rangechipsshouldbecompatiblewiththeX55then,soeveryonebenefits. Qualcommsays450million5Gphoneswillshipin2021 Therealquestionisifthecarrierswillbeready.5Grolloutsaren'tcheapandtherehasbeenalotofworkgetting5Ginplace,butwe'veyettoseeatruecoast-to-coastnationwide5Gnetworkandmightnotseeoneforseveralyears. AndbythattimeeverythingmighthavechangedandtheX60won'tseemaswonderfulasitdoestoday.Butstill,withoutthehardware,there'snowaytobuildthenetworksowe'reexcitedtoseewhatQualcommshowsoffatitsnext5Gsummit. SamsungGalaxyS20 TheGalaxyS20istheflagshiptogetin2020.The120Hzdisplayisinaleagueofitsown,yougetthelatestSnapdragon865chipsetwith5Gconnectivity,andthe12MPprimarycameraisjoinedbya64MPlenswith3xzoom. $1,000atSamsung Wemayearnacommissionforpurchasesusingourlinks.Learnmore. FromtheEditor'sDesk Ayear-oldflagshipmightjustgiveyouthebestbangforyourbuck Inlate2021,adiscounted2020flagshipcanstillbeafantasticbuy.Here'swhy! Android&Chill SamsungneedstobringbackitsiPodcompetitor Idon'twanttobuyaniPodTouch.SinceIwantareasonablypricedPMPwithacceptableaudiohardwarethatcaninstallafewcrucialapps,Imighthaveto. VOIPallday VoLTE:Howtouseitandwhyyoushouldcare VoLTE—orVoiceoverLTE—isthenewstandardforcallingthroughouttheU.S.,Canada,andpartsofEurope.Notonlydoesitfacilitatemuchhighercallqualitybetweencellphones,butitallowsdevicestostayconnectedtoLTEwhileonacall,improvingdataspeedsforeveryone. ConnectyourphonetoAndroidAuto ThesearethebestUSB-CcablesyoucanfindforAndroidAuto AndroidAutoisanabsolutenecessitywhendriving,regardlessofwhetheryou'reheadedouttothegrocerystoreorforalongroadtrip.Thesecableswillensureyourphonestaysprotectedandcharged,nomatterwhat. KeepinTouch Signupnowtogetthelatestnews,deals&morefromAndroidCentral! IwouldliketoreceivenewsandoffersfromotherFuturebrands. Yes No IwouldliketoreceivemailfromFuturepartners. Yes No SignMeUp Nospam,wepromise.Youcanunsubscribeatanytimeandwe'llnevershareyourdetailswithoutyourpermission. Phones Reviews Chromebooks Android HowTo Deals Forums Gaming VPN OtherCategories AboutUs Newsletter AdvertisingInquiries LicensingandReprints Tipusonnews AccessibilityStatement WindowsCentral iMore CrackBerry Thrifter TechnoBuffalo MrMobile Login or Signup Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram RSS Brightness LightMode DarkMode ©FutureUS,Inc. Terms&Conditions PrivacyPolicy CookiePolicy Careers Licensing ExternalLinksDisclosure AccessibilityStatement