The next generations of Snapdragon 8-, 7- and 6- series SoCs will be 5G-ready by default

Currently, only the upper end of Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs can use 5G bands. They require either the X50 or X55 modem, along with even more components such as mmWave antennae, to do so. Therefore, 5G is only typically found in extremely premium device lines such as the OnePlus 7 Pro. However, this situation may fade into the past as soon as next year. 

Qualcomm has announced that its next-gen chipsets will have 5G by default. This is because they will support this connectivity via in-built SoCs, as the majority of newer mobile CPUs do with 4G/LTE now. Furthermore, the next-level functionality is not just coming to the successors of the X50 series-compatible Snapdragon 855 and 855 Plus.

It is also being conferred on the next Qualcomm 7-series - as well as the next 6-series. Therefore, 5G support could extend to moderate price-tiers as well as top-flight ones (and those in between, for that matter). Qualcomm has also stated that Nokia, LG, OPPO, Realme, Redmi, Vivo and Motorola already have plans for phones based on the 7 Series 5G mobile platform.

These SoCs will also have the benefit of global 5G compatibility and the Qualcomm AI Engine, as well as some of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gaming features currently found in the 8 series of today. Furthermore, they will be based on a 7 nanometer (nm) architecture. This silicon has in fact been in designers' hands since the 2nd quarter of 2019; in other words, devices that integrate it could become apparent by the end of this year.

The next-gen 6 Series is intended to be a crowd-pleaser (if the crowd was made of carriers and OEMs, that is) that could bring 5G to a much greater pool of potential customers as early as the 1st half of 2020. Qualcomm is less expansive on the subject of the 8 Series 5G mobile platform at present, besides promising further information on it later this year.