I get it ; mobile component announcements are n’t that sexy at the best of time , let alone when it ’s just a Wi - Fi chipset – but bear with me here because Qualcomm ’s new FastConnect 7900 is actually rather interesting .
It follows on from the firstWi - Fi 7chipset that Qualcomm revealed two years ago at MWC , and it should not only badly boost the Wi - Fi capability of your next flagship smartphone , but it should enable some reasonably cool experiences too .
Let me rewind a piece ; the FastConnect 7900 is the first Wi - Fi chipset to utilise onboard AI to enhance the wireless experience . According to Qualcomm , the AI is smart enough to understand the context of how it ’s being used without encroaching on your privacy by get at personal data point or inspecting packets , and it ’ll optimise both latency and top executive use consequently .
This could manifest itself in several ways ; it could further your Wi - Fi connection during TV call , when pelt videos online or downloading apps or games from Google Play to get you the quick speeds possible , then automatically lose weight speeds to provide near stamp battery efficiency when not needed . It ’s also executable that it could dilute Wi - Fi power during downtimes , like when you ’re departed and only need a minimum connection to maintain app notification and the alike .
This will not only have a knock - on force on the overall battery life of your gadget , with Qualcomm ’s early tests on reference computer hardware showcasing a power step-down as high as 30 % compared to a regular Wi - Fi 7 chipset , but you ’ll be getting a much more responsive , static Wi - Fi connectedness – as long as you ’re get in touch to a Wi - Fi 7 - enabled meshwork , that is .
To me , however , that ’s only one exciting element about the chipset .
The other big feature is Wi - Fi , Bluetooth and radical - wideband ( UWB ) brook all within the FastConnect 7900 chipset . This is not only good news for manufacturers as one chip take up less space than three , permit more space for other components like a bigger battery , but it should hopefully speed up acceptation of the rather niche UWB connectivity .
It has been a staple of iPhones for a while , but adoption is n’t quite as ubiquitous on Android , and I can only assume that it comes down to the toll of the additional component . With the functionality build into the latest Wi - Fi chipset , that should hopefully remove that big vault .
For those that have n’t had the hazard to expend a UWB - enable iPhone withAirTags , it essentially allows phones to locate nearby machine with exceptional truth , with an iPhone pointing you flat towards the AirTag with a reach and a space measurement to lease you know if you ’re stuffy . Imagine that , but on a larger scale , allowing your Android phone to be able-bodied to not only accurately locate Bluetooth trackers but also perform actions like get localize directions around a busy shopping centre using Wi - Fi sounding and UWB sound .
The latter is something that ’s still a way off , call for retailers to work up the tech into depot , but if the technical school is pronto available on most smartphones , there ’s no reason why they would n’t .
It also play nicely into the augmented reality future we ’re easy march towards , with future UWB - enabled smart looking glass capable to identify and pass with nearby devices .
So , yes , while the announcement of the FastConnect 7900 may not be the aphrodisiac thing to come out of MWC , it ’s a component that could have a Brobdingnagian impact on the nomadic food market over the next duad of years .