Qualcomm announces X16 and X50 modems for next generation Snapdragon 8xx devices and 5G Connectivity

At the Qualcomm 4G/5G Summit in Hong Kong, Qualcomm revealed some new processors, and their roadmap for their upcoming flagship modems, the X16 and X50, and the roadmap towards 5G connectivity.

X16 LTE Modem

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X16 Modem is Qualcomm's flagship modem for 2017. The X16 LTE Modem is the first modem capable of Gigabit download speeds, bringing Category 16 downlink, with 4×20 carrier aggregation, 256-QAM, 4×4 MIMO on two aggregated carriers, and up to 10 LTE data streams at 100 Mbps each. It will also be capable of Category 13 uplink allowing for peak upload speeds of 150 Mbps thanks to 2×20 carrier aggregation, 64-QAM, and up to 2 LTE data streams at 75 Mbps each. Additionally, the X16 Modem will support LTE Dual SIM Dual Active.

The first implementation of the X16 Modem will be in the NETGEAR Mobile Router MR1100, which was produced in partnership with Telstra, NETGEAR, and Ericsson, and will be available in the next few months. Qualcomm has announced that after that, the X16 Modem will appear in the next generation Snapdragon 8xx series chip, potentially named the Snapdragon 830.

X50 5G Modem

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 Modem is the first 5G modem announced, capable of 5 Gbps download on the 28 GHz mmWave spectrum, which is also referred to as "Extremely High Frequency" or "millimeter Wave", thanks to it using a frequency with wavelengths measured in millimeters. Due to the restrictions of 28 GHz signals, it will be heavily influenced by line of sight (although Qualcomm is working on solutions to those issues, using technology like adaptive beamforming and beam tracking), and will be used to complement the existing LTE network.  Qualcomm notes that mmWave is not synonymous with 5G, and rather is one potential technology that could fall under the 5G umbrella once standardization is finalized. Sampling will begin in the second half of 2017, with the first devices expected in the first half of 2018.

Qualcomm hopes that the speed increase brought about by 5G networks will allow for substantial changes in the ways we use the internet, making things like instant apps, high resolution streaming, offsite storage that feels as fast as local, and even VR streaming all potentially possible.

Are you excited for 5G networks? What do you hope to do with the increased speed? What new uses of the technology do you think we will see as internet speeds become faster?

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Samsung Setting Up Galaxy Note 7 Exchange Booths at International Airports

With the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 being far from a done and dusted chapter in Samsung's year, the company is taking steps to try and salvage as much of its brand reputation and loyalty as it can possibly, keeping in mind the serious nature of the incident.

With the Note 7 production and sales being halted, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) had recently issued the inevitable second recall of the device which makes it illegal to sell the device. Further, the Federal Aviation Administration in the US had also banned the device from being carried onto an aircraft, making it a federal crime to carry the device on an aeroplane. Users who bring the Note 7 onto a plane are "subject to civil penalties of up to $179,933 for each violation for each day they are found to be in violation (49 U.S.C. 5123)," and could be prosecuted, which could "result in fines under title 18, imprisonment of up to ten years, or both (49 U.S.C. 5124)" [Source].

Seeing how this affects fliers in a very substantial manner, Samsung has set up Note 7 exchange booths in a few international airports. The move started off at Seoul Airport in South Korea, with the trade-in booths now being open at several airports across Australia. More such exchange booths and trade-in stands are scheduled to pop up at airports around the globe.

The help desks will help customers who have been unaware of the flying restrictions imposed on the device, or who are unable to fly with it to the place of purchase. Samsung employees at the booth will also assist in transferring data from the Note 7 onto the new exchange device (which we predict likely to be the S7 Edge), although the exact exchange device is unknown.

A last minute exchange of a primary communication device is usually not part of anyone's gameplan in starting off a flight. But in case you have no other choice but to walk in to an airport with a Note 7, at least now you can still fly.

How do you think the exchange booths will help in retaining consumer loyalty for Samsung? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image Credits: Allaboutphones.nl

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Honor 6X Launched in China with Dual Rear Camera and ¥999 ($150) Price Tag

Huawei's Honor sub-brand, best known for its mid range devices that offer great value at affordable prices, has announced the successor for its budget front-runner lineup.

The Honor 6X succeeds the Honor 5X, and just like the previous device, the aim is to provide a combination of specs that works at prices that people appreciate. The Honor 6X comes with a metallic back with what appear as plastic portions on the top and bottom for radio reception. There's a 5.5″ FHD display on the front with the "honor" branding on the bottom chin.

On the inside, the Honor 6X rocks an octa-core Kirin 655 based on a 16nm process, with 4x cores clocked at 2.1GHz and 4x cores at 1.7GHz. The Mali T830-MP2 handles the GPU department. There are three variants of the device based on memory (LPDDR3) and storage (eMMC 5.1): 3GB + 32GB, 4GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB. You can expand the storage up to another 128GB with the help of a microsd card as the Honor 6X does sport a hybrid dual SIM slot. The phone is powered by a 3,340 mAh battery (with fast charging support), and runs on EMUI 4.1 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

In the camera department, the primary rear camera is a 12MP sensor with PDAF. This is aided by another 2MP secondary rear camera which provides depth of field and background blur. There's also an 8MP front-facing camera.

While the specs may not seem stellar against flagships, the pricing of the device is what give the Honor 6X such an appealing option. The base 3GB + 32GB variant comes in at CNY 999 (~$148), the 4GB + 32GB variant comes at CNY 1299 (~$193) and the top 4GB + 64GB variant comes at CNY 1599 (~$237). The device is available for preorder in China right now, and will go on sale from October 25th onwards. Pricing and availability for regions outside of China is unknown as of now, but we can expect the Honor 6X to reach the regions where the Honor 5X was sold at least.

What are your thoughts on the Honor 6X? Would you consider purchasing the device if it is sold in your region? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: FoneArena

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Unlocked Priv From AT&T to Now Receive Updates Directly From BlackBerry

BlackBerry has been very good with their software updates for the BlackBerry Priv since it was released at the end of last year. The company has even beat Google to the punch when it comes to certain security updates this year. Of course, these swift updates were only possible on units that were purchased directly from BlackBerry's own website. AT&T still delays their updates since the carrier chooses to modify the software that is sent to them from BlackBerry.

Still, this hasn't stopped customers from purchasing a factory unlocked BlackBerry Priv from AT&T so they could use it on a different network. However, it was revealed earlier this year that if you didn't have an active AT&T SIM card in the AT&T branded Priv, then you didn't receive any OTA updates at all. This happened with the Galaxy S7 this year as well, but at least you could use Samsung's Smart Switch software to manually download the update directly from Samsung.

Back in May, BlackBerry acknowledged this issue and confirmed they were working with AT&T to get it resolved as quickly as possible. The company didn't tell us when the issue would be resolved, but that changes this week. Today, the company has updated that specific Knowledge Base article and tells us they will be handling OTA updates for AT&T branded BlackBerry Privs that don't have an active AT&T SIM card in the device.

So if you're one of the people who picked up a BlackBerry Priv during one of AT&T's enticing sales, you should have an OTA update waiting for you right now. Not only will this get your Priv completely up to date with all of the security patches that you've missed out on, but BlackBerry will also be handling OTA updates for these unlocked devices in the future.

Source: CrackBerry

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Optus: LG G5 Expected to Receive Android 7.0 in Mid-November

LG made massive headlines when it was revealed that one of their smartphones would be the first available with Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. Indeed, the LG V20 is the first to have Android 7.0 Nougat installed on it right out of the box, but most of the general public hasn't even received their device yet. Pre-orders have been up at most major wireless carriers, and some will begin shipping their orders this month, but others have to wait until November to ship to their customers.

With LG getting the jump on Android 7.0 though, many were curious as to what their progress was for Nougat on other smartphones. LG does have a good reputation of pushing out fast updates in their home country of South Korea. However, getting these brand new updates to major markets like Europe and the United States has been a completely different story. Many people were disappointed about how long it took Android 6.0 Marshmallow to finally land on the LG G4.

So the question is, how long will it take LG to complete the rollout of Android 7.0 Nougat on the LG G5? It's too far off to know that right now, but we do have an idea as to when the rollout will begin though. Optus, an Australian wireless carrier, just published their timeline for the Nougat update on the LG G5. Optus is telling us that the update is currently in testing, and that they are expected to begin the update process in the middle of next month.

This timeline should not be treated as a date that is set in stone. It's currently in the testing phase and there could be many roadblocks in its path. With it being in testing right now, Optus could find something wrong with the update, a connectivity issue for instance, and that will cause a delay in the roll out. For now though, at least we know that LG is working on the update for multiple regions and many are hopeful it can be completed before the end of the year.

Source: Optus

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A Look at What Has Changed from the Snapdragon 820 to the Snapdragon 821 in the Google Pixel Phones

We reached out to Qualcomm to get a better look at the Snapdragon 821 processor that is making an appearance in the upcoming Google Pixel and Pixel XL, the Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe, the Xiaomi Mi 5s, and the LeEco Le Pro 3. With the Snapdragon 821 in the Pixel phones running at the same clock speed as the regular Snapdragon 820, many people were asking what benefits the new SoC brings, and why choose it if they're not going to use the higher clock speeds it can bring.

Our interest was piqued when the Android Platform's Performance Lead mentioned that Google was not underclocking the Snapdragon 821 (contrary to popular belief), and thus implied that rather the version that they were using came running at the same speeds as the main version of the Snapdragon 820 by default.

The short version is that not much has physically changed in the design of the Snapdragon 821 from the 820, but we were able to make some interesting discoveries in the process. The Snapdragon 821 is a revision similar to the Snapdragon 801 and 800, and is brought about primarily by improving yields.

These improved yields have allowed Qualcomm to release essentially a revision of the Snapdragon 82x that can either use 5% less power at the same clock speeds as the original version, or be tuned for slightly higher clock speeds at around the same power usage as the 820. This follows closely in the footsteps of the Snapdragon 800 and Snapdragon 801, where the improved yields allowed Qualcomm to release a slightly improved version of the 800 halfway through their regular development cycle.

Qualcomm informed us that there are indeed two revisions of the Snapdragon 821. One running at the advertised maximum CPU and GPU clock speeds of 2.34 GHz and 653 MHz (respectively), and a separate one running at the same 2.15 GHz and 624 MHz that was found in the main Snapdragon 820. The Pixel phones are using the later one, which we have been informed is called the MSM8996 Pro-AB. While we have not yet been able to get confirmation about the name of the higher clocked model, if it is following the same model as the Snapdragon 800 and 801 chips, it may be either the MSM8996 Pro-AA or the MSM8996 Pro-AC.

One thing to note is that despite rumors to the contrary, Google did not pick the Snapdragon 821 because of the Snapdragon VR SDK. While definitely a nice tool, it works on both the Snapdragon 820 and 821, and is not a distinguishing feature between the two chips.

With how heavily Google was pushing the improvements to the Pixel phones' camera, we thought there might be some Image Signal Processor improvements, and at first glimpse there appeared to be, with the Snapdragon 820 being listed as being capable of processing 25 MP images at 30 Hz, and the Snapdragon 821 being listed as being capable of processing 28 MP images at 30 Hz; but that turned out to be a typo, which has since been corrected. The Qualcomm Spectra ISP in both SoCs are capable of processing the same 28 MP at 30 Hz.

Instead, Google sought out improvements to their HDR+ processing speed by finding ways to better leverage Qualcomm's Hexagon DSP, through the use of Qualcomm's Hexagon Vector eXtensions. Google is offloading substantial portions of processing for HDR+ to the Hexagon DSP that used to be handled by the CPU itself, and that has played a major role in both decreasing the time it takes to process HDR+ shots, and in allowing the Pixel phones to continue shooting HDR+ shots, with DXOMark finding that it could shoot one HDR+ shot every three seconds indefinitely. This pairs very well with the faster shooting capabilities brought about by the Sony Exmor RS IMX378 image sensor to create an exceptional camera.

While not directly related to the processor itself, Google has mentioned that they have put substantial work into helping improve the scheduler found in the Pixel phones, which is fantastic news as schedulers are, in the words of John Poole, "horrendously complicated pieces of code", and small improvements can have major impacts on real world performance.

Overall, the Snapdragon 821 should be a solid revision, but if you're looking for a big jump in performance, you're going to have to wait a couple more months to see the real next generation of chips start appearing in flagship phones next year (the rumored Snapdragon 830), which Qualcomm just announced will be using their new X16 LTE Modem. The new modem is particularly interesting, as it will bring some substantial improvements like LTE Dual SIM Dual Active, Category 16 and 13 downlink and uplink, multi-carrier 4×4 MIMO, 4×20 Carrier aggregation, and a theoretical peak download speed of 1 Gbps.

What do you think of the Snapdragon 821? Are you excited for its use in the Pixel phones, or are you rather anticipating next year's flagships with the Snapdragon 830 and the X16 LTE Modem?

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[LAST CALL!] Win an Honor 8: 4GB RAM, Dual-Camera, Premium Design

CONTEST ENDS TODAY!

We're back with another Honor 8 contest, and like before, it's open to all countries! You can enter the contest in numerous ways. Each point you earn is considered an entry, so the more points you earn, the higher your chances are of winning. As a reminder, the Honor 8 is the current flagship from Honor and sports dual-cameras, USB Type-C with fast-charging, a Kirin 950 CPU with 4GB RAM, and a 5.2″ 1080p display. We will pick the winner around during the week of October 17. Good luck!

Win a New Honor 8!

  Honor 8 XDA Review   Honor 8 Forums

  Win Stuff from Honor

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