5G isn’t even here yet but Qualcomm has already released an updated 5G modem

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Next week, MWC 2019 will undoubtedly showcase the newest and greatest mobile devices the world has ever seen. Well, if you don’t count the Galaxy S10 that Samsung will be showing off tomorrow.

In that crop of smartphones will be a handful of devices built for the upcoming 5G networks. Qualcomm is one of the main manufacturers for the modem chips that will power this revolution in speed, and today the company announced its second-generation 5G modem, the X55 5G.

More about the new Qualcomm modem

While there aren’t actually any 5G phones released (yet) with the existing X50 5G modem that Qualcomm released last year, it’s never too early for the mobile chipmaker to announce the next iteration. With how long a device’s design cycle takes, this chip will likely be included in 2020’s mobile devices and beyond. The new X55 chip promises up to 7Gbps speeds, allowing you to download a 4K movie from Netflix in just seconds. With the average internet speed in the USA being 18.7Mbps, this new 5G chip is over 370 times faster.

The X55 modem also removes some of the headaches that device makers will have in the short term. 5G has different carriers promoting different sections of the wireless frequency bands, and the X55 has been designed to support all of these.

It also has multi-mode support, which is a fancy way of saying that the modem will support 5G, 4G and even networks still running on the older 2G standard. That should mean that your new devices will work worldwide, without having to worry if your device won’t work while you travel.

Qualcomm also showed a new 5G antenna design, which adds support for the 26Ghz band and has a smaller footprint than previous designs, enabling 5G to be put into slimmer phones.

What do you think? Ready for 5G? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• The Opera browser on Android makes blocking ads a breeze
• Google is trying to fix the not-so-Incognito mode in Chrome
• Apple could release a 16″ MacBook Pro and 6K display this year
• Oh great, another gaggle of foldable devices, this time from TCL
• Apple patents reveal folding device that may or may not exist someday

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.