Skip to main content

Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 will bring 1.2Gbps LTE download speeds to phones

qualcomm snapdragon x20 sign poster name logo hq headquarters 02
Qualcomm may be one of the major companies working on 5G, but that doesn’t mean it has forgotten about LTE. In fact, the company has just unveiled the Snapdragon X20, a new wireless modem that promises a hefty 1.2Gbps download speed over an LTE connection on mobile devices.

That’s a pretty huge 20 percent faster than the company’s previous flagship modem, and it achieves this speed through carrier aggregation, which uses different frequency ranges to download up to 12 different streams of 100Mbps each. Even upload speeds are fast, at a cool 150Mbps.

Related Videos

The modem isn’t just targeted at faster download speeds. It also supports 3.5GHz, which is used by Citizens Broadband Radio Service. In other words, it will now support private LTE networks. On top of that, it’ll be able to take LTE phone calls on phones with dual SIM cards.

Of course, just because the modem can handle these data speeds doesn’t mean you’ll be able to get those speeds in the real world. First, you’ll need to be one of only a few people using a particular cell tower, and you’ll need to be near a cell tower that can handle each of the frequency bands used by the modem — and that’s assuming your carrier supports the higher speeds in the first place, which is itself unlikely at this point. Last but not least, you’ll first need to buy a phone that has the new modem installed.

Still, the release is exciting — more and more carriers are likely to support higher LTE speeds, and more phones will have the modem built-in later this year. Qualcomm appears to be starting to lay the groundwork for 5G — higher LTE speeds will play a big role in the larger 5G framework down the line.

Editors' Recommendations

Samsung brings the Galaxy S23’s new software to older phones
Android 13 logo on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Samsung this week announced that it will be rolling out its latest One UI 5.1 software to current Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy S22, Galaxy Z Fold 4, and Galaxy Z Flip 4 lineups. The company debuted the Android 13-powered One UI 5.1 update on the Galaxy S23 Ultra this month, and it's bringing those extra features to general users.

“One UI 5.1 is the up-to-date example of Samsung’s commitment to providing Galaxy users with the latest innovations as soon as possible,”  Samsung's Janghyun Yoon said in a blog post. “Over the past several weeks, we have worked closely with our service providers and carrier partners to bring One UI 5.1 to current Galaxy smartphones and tablets around the world within a few short weeks of the Galaxy S23 series announcement.”

Read more
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X75 ushers in the next era of 5G connectivity
Qualcomm Snapdragon X75.

Qualcomm has just announced the Snapdragon X75, the company's sixth-generation 5G modem that promises to push smartphones and other connected devices into the next phase of 5G technology.

The Snapdragon X75 is the successor to last year's X70, which is the modem found in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that powers this year's most powerful 5G smartphones — including Samsung's recently unveiled Galaxy S23 Ultra and the OnePlus 11. However, it's more than just an evolution of that earlier modem system, as Qualcomm has packed in support for next-generation 5G Advanced technology along with an entirely new architecture and powerful AI features that will allow mobile devices to access better coverage and achieve even faster speeds.
5G grows up big-time

Read more
Ranking all 16 iOS versions, from worst to best
iPhone 14 Pro with iOS 16 with custom home screen

In 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone on the stage at Macworld Expo in San Francisco. It has been 16 years since that announcement that changed the mobile industry as we know it; today, we now have 16 versions of iOS software that power our iPhones.

iOS has certainly come a long way, with iOS 16 letting us do things on our iPhone 14 that we never thought was possible a decade ago. But each version of iOS has its own strengths and weaknesses, with some releases being better than others.

Read more