While the MWC ended today in Barcelona, this 2024 edition was the scene of numerous announcements hoping to shake up the world of telephony. While most manufacturers unveiled their latest technological innovations, Qualcomm focused on the democratization of 5G. Until now, this technology was often associated with high-end smartphones, inaccessible to many consumers. However, the American founder wants to change the situation by allowing mobile manufacturers to offer 5G smartphones for less than $100.
We aim to democratize 5G and bring it to more than 2.8 billion users.
5G is no longer a novelty, network coverage in France is even one of the best in the world according to a study carried out by OpenSignal, but its massive adoption remains hampered by the high cost of compatible smartphones. For the moment, 5G compatibility is only integrated into devices sold for more than €300, as evidenced by the number of variations recently offered by Xiaomi with its Redmi Note 13 range in order to reach all audiences. With this announcement, Qualcomm hopes to extend access to 5G to a wider audience, particularly in emerging countries where purchasing power is a barrier to the adoption of new technologies.
A long-standing promise that Qualcomm intends to put into practice “from this year”, with a chip including a dual-band modem promising speeds of up to 1 Gb/s. We still know nothing about this chip, and we will have to wait for a more precise announcement to know its exact characteristics, as well as the names of the first manufacturers to use it in their entry-level products.
Note that the show was also an opportunity for Qualcomm to present the Snapdragon X80, its new 5G modem designed for AI and intended for high-end devices, which will replace the X75 present on the Xiaomi 14 that the Chinese giant launched on the European market at the same time.