Author: Pat Kline

On Tuesday the 19th, Qualcomm the chip giant releases the Snapdragon 870 5G is a follow-on to the capabilities of the Snapdragon 865 Plus, a 5G chipset with a speedy CPU and improved GPU in comparison to its predecessor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865.

The “boosted” Snapdragon 870 5G comes equipped with an enhanced Kyro 585 CPU, coming in at core clock speeds of up to 3.2GHz.

This Snapdragon 870 has been developed with mobile gaming in mind through the Snapdragon Elite Gaming system, display support for up to 4K at 60 Hz, updatable GPU drivers, and the implementation of Adreno Fast Blend to reduce rendering issues.

The concept of a car as a “computer on wheels” is moving past the realm of hype and closer to reality, which will transform the driving experience and improve everyday road safety, too. The arrival of long-promised technologies like 5G connectivity and new high-performance computers means cars will improve over time, instead of depreciating the minute they leave the dealer lot. With software updates, buyers will be able to add features or services that weren’t available at the time of purchase or enhance their ride with customized apps. This will all be handled over the 5G ultra-fast network. That will be able to handle large update as large as 50 Gb in just a few minutes. Once 5G is widely deployed, cars will also be able to communicate with each other and also with the surrounding ecosystem, providing situational awareness and helping to avoid collisions.

The coming of 5G was supposed to change everything. But aside from tons of commercials and smartphones with a faster wireless connection and, at times, not even that the next-generation cellular technology has been a non-factor for most people. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg showed up to this year’s CES with a few real-world examples of how 5G will have an impact.

Verizon 5G and Drone control. While connecting drone deliveries Verizon is also working on this area through Skyward, a Verizon-owned business created to push cellular-connected drones. Verizon and Skyward are using 5G to connect delivery drones and are aiming to use them to deliver packages in The Villages in Florida with the help of UPS’s Flight Forward program. Vestberg said many of the drone deliveries that happened in 2020 were to transport critical supplies like medicine, but he hopes it will be broadened out. He said the only way to effectively coordinate and connect a massive number of drones in the air is through a cellular network, and 5G gives you the necessary capacity.

Qualcomm Incorporated known as QCOM recently unveiled the first 5G-backed 4th series mobile platform — Snapdragon 480 5G Mobile Platform. The Snapdragon 480 is to deliver best in class 5G connectivity to the mass volume, low-priced smartphone. The budget-friendly 4th series chipset line is primarily known for its robust connection and is equipped with Snapdragon X51 5G that supports 5G modes, frequencies, and spectrums at lightning speeds. Qualcomm is one of the largest manufacturers of wireless chipsets based on baseband technology.

If you are lucky enough to get a new iPhone 12 this holiday season, there are two things you need to do first get yourself a 20W USB-C power adapter and pick out the right case. The one thing you don’t need to do is changing to a more expensive wireless plan just to get 5G.

While it’s true that the new iPhone 12 is capable of mind-blowing wireless speeds thanks to its new 5G capabilities, you might not actually be able to get them. Depending on your plan and where you live, you might not be able to tap into 5G speeds under your current carrier plan, so you probably think you need to upgrade to one that does.

You don’t, at least not as of yet. While there are some benefits to 5G that can be enjoyed right now possibly faster throughput speeds, the good stuff is likely years away. Even if you live in an area that can deliver sustained speeds of 1.5Gbps thanks to a close-range millimeter-wave tower, you’re unlikely to use it for anything more than showing it off to your friends.

Apple’s iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models show the best sales during their Oct. 23 launch that they became the first and second best-selling 5G smartphone worldwide. The sales tallies, from Counterpoint Research, indicated that Apple’s initial two iPhone 12 models tallied an estimated 24% of all 5G phone sales for October 2020.

There is a large suppressed demand for 5G upgrade since the release of the iPhone 12 5G model, especially within the iOS base, which is now getting converted into sales,” Counterpoint analyst Varun Mishra wrote in a Monday blog post about the data. He noted that promotions from carriers, which pushed the device’s price down from a $799 starting price to zero upfront charges in many cases, accounted for over a third of iPhone 12 sales for the month.

T-Mobile and The Drone Racing League, the global, professional drone racing property, announced a broad-reaching partnership to advance 5G-powered drone technology. As part of the multi-year deal, T-Mobile has made an investment in Drone Racing League with the company’s T-Mobile Ventures fund, T-Mobile has signed on as the league’s exclusive U.S. 5G Wireless partner. Together, Cellular carrier T-Mobile and Drone Racing League will innovate 5G racing drone technology to create the first integrated 5G racing drones, with the aim of authentically building them into the sport. Drone Racing League will develop first of its kind, custom racing drones powered by T-Mobile 5G during the 2021 Drone Racing League World Championship.

The rise of the 5G service rejuvenated the mobile phone industry, setting the stage for a big 2020. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. The world, and phone sales, halted. Then in the middle of a global crisis, phone sales bounced back.

As the virus was contained, and Asia opened back up, millions of customers in places like China scooped up new 5G phones. Handset makers held virtual events and introduced a wave of 5G phones, and carriers rolled out their networks. 5G sales in 2020 ended up being nearly as strong as expected before the pandemic even began, partly thanks to Apple and the introduction of a full lineup of 5G iPhone 12 models.

2020 was supposed to be the year 5G went mainstream, of consumers seeking out the technology. But early speeds were a little underwhelming, so it could be 2021 is when 5G will actually be noticeably different for the 5G networks.

A Samsung store employee recently confirmed the Galaxy S21 launch date and several other details. Now another leak authenticates the planned colors and reveals more information including the storage options.
Samsung’s Galaxy S21 will offer 128GB of base storage.

It remains to be seen how much RAM is going to be included inside each model its rumored to be 8GB of RAM for the Galaxy S21 and S21+, and 12GB for the S21 Ultra. The storage options mentioned above will presumably apply to the whole of Europe, not just Germany, and the United States also.

On Dec. 8, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission will begin selling off another chunk of wireless spectrum to accelerate the country’s stride toward the full commitment of 5G. In an auction projected to measure as much as $50 billion to the U.S. Government, 57 companies have qualified for the opportunity to bid on 5,684 spectrum licenses to serve 406 different markets throughout the United States.

The winning bidders will walk away with a contracted 15-year license to provide either terrestrial fixed or mobile applications, with the condition that they offer services to 45 percent of the population within eight years of obtaining the license.