MWC 2022 | Qualcomm combines Snapdragon 5G modems and M.2 cards to make connectivity upgrades in next-gen PCs easier

Qualcomm is intent on getting 5G everywhere, on personal computing devices that are not phones included. Now, it has unveiled its latest solution to confer this connectivity on yet more PCs at MWC 2022. These latest modules are intended to reduce the risk of compromising a design in development by calling for not much more than an empty M.2 slot.

This is because Qualcomm's latest step in "easy 5G adoption" is to put the components as necessary on a module of this conventional form-factor. The new modules come with either a Snapdragon X65 or X62 modem, thereby conferring up-to-10Gb and 3GPP Release 16-compliant 5G on a given device.

These new modules, developed in partnership with Foxconn and Quectel Technologies, are thus pitched at hardware companies as a new form of ultra-convenient (or, as Qualcomm puts it, "turn-key") upgrades to 5G in next-gen PCs. It is honestly not clear from their MWC presentation whether they can be installed in pre-existing devices or not, however.