Qualcomm announces Snapdragon X12, X7, and X5 LTE modems for Windows 10 devices

Qualcomm has been particularly successful with its Snapdragon SoCs and Gobi modems. The fabless chipmaker announced earlier this year that its Gobi modems will face a rebranding and name change to better fit into the Snapdragon family. The Gobi 9x45, for example, will become the Snapdragon X12 LTE.

Additionally, Qualcomm has partnered with Microsoft to expand its SoCs into PCs. The company promises that more future notebooks, 2-in-1s, and tablets running Windows 10 will start carrying Snapdragon chips. Currently, Snapdragon SoCs can be found in Lumia devices including the recently announced Lumia 950 and 950 XL with Snapdragon 808 and 810, respectively.

More manufacturers of Windows devices will have the opportunity to include Qualcomm modems for WLAN connectivity with the Snapdragon X12 (Gobi 9x45/9x40), Snapdragon X7 (Gobi 9x35/9x30), or Snapdragon X5 (Gobi 9x28/9x25/9x20) LTE modules. All models will support the Mobile Broadband Interface Model (MBIM) specification.

The move should help Qualcomm take market share away from Intel's ubiquitous XMM family of modems. The Snapdragon modems offer a wider range of LTE Carrier Aggregation (CA) solutions. Major manufacturers such as Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Panasonic are already adding LTE options for their respective Windows 10 products with Foxconn and Sierra Wireless already involved.

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