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• Qualcomm unveils new features in Snapdragon X70 Modem-RF system
  in 5G
  By Chris Coughlan

  Qualcomm Technologies announced at the Qualcomm 5G Summit event new capabilities and milestones for the Snapdragon X70 5G Modem-RF System.

  Qualcomm says that this builds on the fifth-generation 5G modem-to-antenna solution announced in February at MWC Barcelona.

  Harnessing the power of AI for breakthrough 5G performance with 10 Gigabit 5G downloads, incredible upload speeds, low latency, coverage, and power efficiency, Snapdragon X70 offers ultimate flexibility to global 5G operators to maximise spectrum resources for the best possible 5G connectivity.

  Snapdragon X70 provides advanced capabilities such as Qualcomm 5G AI Suite, Qualcomm® 5G Ultra-Low Latency Suite, Qualcomm® 5G PowerSave Gen 3, uplink carrier aggregation, standalone mmWave and 4X sub-6 carrier aggregation to achieve unmatched 5G performance.

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  New features and achievements facilitated by the upgradable architecture of Snapdragon X70 include:

  Qualcomm Smart Transmit 3.0 technology, the company says this is an upgraded system-level feature licensed by Qualcomm Technologies that now extends support to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth transmit power management. It enables real-time averaging of transmit power across 2G-5G, mmWave, Wi-Fi (2.4GHz 6/6E/7), and Bluetooth (2.4) radios to superior radio performance.

  

  Qualcomm advises that Smart Transmit 3.0 extends 5G coverage and improve uplink speeds, optimising transmissions across cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas. Smart Transmit 3.0 helps devices smartly manage transmit power, allowing users to enjoy faster, more reliable connectivity.

  5G standalone mmWave connection <<bold>> , with peak speeds of more than 8 Gbps achieved using Keysight’s 5G Protocol R&D Toolset with a test 5G device powered by Snapdragon X70. Qualcomm stated that 5G standalone mmWave allows for the deployment of 5G mmWave networks and devices without using an anchor on sub-6 GHz spectrum. This gives operators more flexibility to deliver wireless fibre broadband access with multi-Gigabit speeds and ultra-low latency to residential and commercial customers. Through this product demonstration, Qualcomm says it illustrates its commitment to new and world-class 5G advancements for devices and networks.

  

  “Snapdragon X70 gives operators the ability to deliver extreme 5G capacity, multi-Gigabit data speeds, and new use cases across devices from smartphones to laptops, fixed wireless access equipment, industrial machines, and more,” said Qualcomm Technologies senior vice president and general manager cellular modems and infrastructure Durga Malladi. “We look forward to working with industry leaders to advance 5G to power best-in-class connectivity experiences at the connected intelligent edge and transform industries across consumer, enterprise and industrial settings.”

  At the Qualcomm 5G Summit event, the company also demonstrated other Snapdragon X70 capabilities, such as AI-enhanced 5G performance, and 5G sub-6 GHz carrier aggregation across three TDD channels – delivering up to 6 Gbps peak download speeds. 5G carrier aggregation enables enhanced average speeds and more robust connections in challenging conditions, such as cell-edge far from the cellular base stations.

  

  Snapdragon X70 is currently sampling to customers. Commercial mobile devices based on Snapdragon X70 are expected to launch by late 2022. For technical details, please visit the Snapdragon X70 webpage here.
• Remotely exploitable flaws found in codec used by many Android phones
  in Security
  By Sam Varghese

  Researchers from Check Point Research, part of the Israeli firm Check Point, have released barebones details about remotely exploitable vulnerabilities in a media codec used by Android phones that are built atop SoCs from Qualcomm and MediaTek.

  In a statement, the researchers said on Thursday the vulnerabilities had been found in the ALAC format — Apple Lossless Audio Codec — and patched in December 2021 by the two chip companies.

  Check Point did not specify why it had waited so long to release the few details it did about this vulnerability. Neither Qualcomm nor MediaTek have issued public statements about these vulnerabilities.

  Qualcomm assigned CVE-2021-30351 for the vulnerabilities in its December update, while MediaTek assigned CVE-2021-0674 and CVE-2021-0675 to the ALAC flaws in the same month.

  {loadposition sam08}The Israeli firm claimed two-thirds of all Android smartphones sold in 2021 were vulnerable. Full details of the flaws will be presented at the CanSecWest security conference to be held from 18 to 20 May.

  CheckPointSW: .@_CPResearch_ discovered vulnerabilities in the #ALAC format that could have led an attacker to remotely get access to its media and audio conversations. CPR estimates that over two-thirds of the world's phones were vulnerable at some poin… pic.twitter.com/U6Uuv6o3GI

  — CheckPointNederland (@CheckPoint_NL) April 21, 2022

  The researchers said ALAC had been developed by Apple and first used in 2004 for lossless data compression.

  They said the code had been open-sourced in 2011 and, since then, had been used in non-Apple devices. No specific devices were mentioned.

  "Since then Apple has been updating the proprietary version of the decoder several times, fixing and patching security issues, but the shared code has not been patched since 2011," the researchers noted.

  "Many third-party vendors use the Apple-supplied code as the basis for their own ALAC implementations, and it’s fair to assume that many of them do not maintain the external code."

  They said the vulnerabilities could be used for a remote attack. This could "range from malware execution to an attacker gaining control over a user’s multimedia data, including streaming from a compromised machine’s camera".

  "In addition, an unprivileged Android app could use these vulnerabilities to escalate its privileges and gain access to media data and user conversations," the statement said.

  Thanks to Dan Goodin of Ars Technica for a link to the Check Point statement.
• Qualcomm launches US$100M Snapdragon Metaverse Fund
  in Strategy
  By Chris Coughlan

  Qualcomm announced the launch of the Snapdragon Metaverse Fund, established to invest up to US$100 million in developers and companies building unique, immersive XR experiences, as well as associated core augmented reality (AR) and related artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

  Qualcomm says the fund plans to deploy capital through a combination of venture investments in leading XR companies by Qualcomm Ventures and a grant program by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. for developer ecosystem funding in XR experiences such as gaming, health and wellness, media, entertainment, education, and enterprise.

  Qualcomm Incorporated president and CEO Cristiano Amon said, "We deliver the groundbreaking platform technology and experiences that will enable both the consumer and the enterprise to build and engage in the metaverse and allow the physical and digital worlds to be connected. Qualcomm is the ticket to the metaverse.

  “Through the Snapdragon Metaverse Fund, we look forward to empowering developers and companies of all sizes as they push boundaries of what’s possible as we enter into this new generation of spatial computing.”

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  Qualcomm Technologies says it has been a key contributor in every major computing evolution and is a leader in core technologies such as 5G, AI and XR – all of which are critical to the metaverse.

  As we enter the new era of spatial computing, the Snapdragon Metaverse Fund will help enable and foster innovation across the entire ecosystem through venture investment and developer ecosystem grants for content projects. In addition, recipients may have the opportunity to gain early access to cutting-edge XR platform technology, hardware kits, a global network of investors, and co-marketing and promotion opportunities.

  Companies and developers who are interested to learn more can visit here.

  The company said that applications for the Snapdragon Metaverse Fund will officially open in June.
• More 5G smartphones than 4G devices sold globally in January: claim
  in Mobility
  By Sam Varghese

  The percentage of 5G-capable smartphones sold globally in January was more than half of the total in a single month for the first time, the technology analyst firm Counterpoint Research says.

  In a statement, the firm said January 2022 saw 5G-capable devices reach 51% of the total, with North America and Western Europe being the geographical areas which drove this result.

  However, the highest percentage was recorded in China, with 84% of smartphone sales being 5G devices.

  This was attributed to Chinese telecommunications operators, who have been pushing for 5G, and also the willingness of OEMs to release competitively priced 5G devices to market.

  {loadposition sam08}Understandably, Counterpoint had no figures for January, given that it is just mid-March. The agency used the term "sales penetration" to convey this occurrence, though it really meant just sales.

  

  In North America, Counterpoint's statistics showed 73% of the smartphones sold could handle 5G while the figure was even higher for Western Europe at 76%. Apple is the dominant brand in both these regions, with a sales share of 50% and 30% respectively and the switch to 5G with the iPhone 12 marked a turning point.

  "These regions are expected to continue contributing substantially to 5G sales globally, as even without offering competitive specs, there is an immense and ongoing demand for a 5G upgrade within the iOS user base," Counterpoint analyst Karn Chauhan said.

  "This demand is also fuelled by iPhone users who are ready for new devices after years of holding onto their older iPhones. For many, holding periods are nearing four years, the average replacement cycle for iPhones."

  On the Android front, Chauhan said affordable SoCs from both MediaTek and Qualcomm had resulted in lower prices; these SoCs had been offered in the mid-to-high range and were now trickling down to the lower range. The last-named range (US$150 (A$205.8) to US$250) made up 20% of 5G device sales in January.
• HPE and Qualcomm collaborate to deliver the next-gen 5G virtualised distributed unit solutions
  in 5G
  By Chris Coughlan

  Qualcomm Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced plans to collaborate to deliver the next generation of 5G distributed units, powered by Qualcomm Technologies’ inline accelerator card, the Qualcomm X100 5G RAN.

  This collaboration aims to address the demands of next-generation networks, simplify deployments and lower total cost of ownership (TCO) by delivering high-performance, O-RAN-compliant, energy-efficient, virtualised, cloud-native 5G solutions. Together, HPE and Qualcomm say they aim to transform how networks are designed and next-generation services are delivered.

  The companies say that the combination of Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G leadership and HPE’s telecommunication infrastructure expertise will help to ensure virtualised and open RAN platforms are ready to support the high-capacity and low-latency demands of future networks that are needed to enhance user experiences.

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  Network operators currently face the difficult challenge of deploying cost-effective 5G network infrastructure, while addressing the complexities of next-generation networks. Qualcomm Technologies’ and HPE’s 5G RAN virtualised distributed unit (vDU) solution combines the Qualcomm X100 5G RAN Accelerator Card and the RAN workload optimised HPE ProLiant DL110 Gen10 Plus Telco Server to deliver the industry’s first fully optimised vDU, the companies claim.

  They say the system is designed to support up to four high-performance accelerator cards in an extremely small footprint 1U server, which lowers power consumption, even while supporting dense 5G mid-band and massive MIMO use cases. According to a comprehensive joint study by HPE and Qualcomm Technologies, operators will lower TCO by up to 60% for 5G deployments1.

  “HPE is looking forward to collaborating with Qualcomm Technologies to help address the rigorous and ever-changing demands of 5G,” said Hewlett Packard Enterprise general manager and vice president communications technology group Tom Craig. “Our industry-leading HPE carrier-grade infrastructure integrated with Qualcomm Technologies’ innovative technology will further benefit our customers as they expand the deployment of their 5G networks.”

  “We are excited for the opportunity to work with HPE to further the capabilities and efficiencies of 5G virtualised networks,” said Qualcomm Technologies senior vice president and general manager 5G mobile broadband and infrastructure Durga Malladi. “Through our collaboration with HPE, we are able to deliver enhanced, powerful and reliable 5G experiences to consumers.”

  Qualcomm says its X100 5G RAN Accelerator Card – an optimised and dedicated hardware - is designed to deliver a high-performance, low-latency, and power-efficient solution that is expected to enable cloud-native and virtualised 5G networks deployments by offloading server CPUs from compute-intensive 5G baseband processing.

  Hardware solutions such as these, powered by our ‘one technology roadmap’ including foundational 5G technologies, Qualcomm says further positions itself as the edge partner of choice for the cloud economy.