Qualcomm isn’t the only company pushing the envelope with 5G technology. The next generation of mobile networks promise a huge leap forward in connection speeds that could open up new ways of using our mobile devices, so it’s no surprise that companies are hoping to gain an early foothold in the space.
That said, Intel’s upcoming XMM 8000 series modems are set to enable 5G connectivity in notebooks in the second half of 2019, including models from notable brands like Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Microsoft.
The recent crop of always-on PCs powered by ARM-based Snapdragon hardware is great for mobile road warriors, but Intel’s modem will let manufacturers combine 5G connectivity with more powerful hardware.
The benefits are numerous, and 5G’s lower latencies could make it feasible to play online games without any need for a wired connection.
At MWC 2018, Intel showed off a 2-in-1 concept PC to give us a peek at what 5G can allow. The concept device was running a live video stream of Wonder Woman over a 5G network and was powered by an early 5G modem and an 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor.
According to Intel, the modem utilizes 8x carrier aggregation, comprising channels of 100MHz each. The increased bandwidth enabled it to achieve a maximum throughput of up to 5.3Gbps, which is blazing fast by today’s standards.
High-quality video streaming on the go is just one of the perks that 5G-connected PCs could offer, and the prospect of low latencies and high-speed mobile connections could alter how we think about and use our PCs.
Integrated LTE connectivity is still quite rare on laptops today, and is mostly reserved for more business-oriented notebooks. However, given the speeds that are oft bandied about in 5G demonstrations like this one, manufacturers could find it harder to pass up the opportunity to include 5G modems in their devices.
In other words, we could eventually see wider adoption of 5G cellular technology, and end up embracing a new breed of always connected machines that don’t need to worry about things like Wi-Fi hotspots. In fact, it's safer too.
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.