Despite the efforts of companies like Samsung and Xiaomi, 5G support is still mostly limited to more expensive phones. But starting this year, you’re likely to see the feature make its way to a greater number of budget phones thanks to the introduction of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 480 chipset and its built-in X51 modem.
The X51 supports mmWave and Sub-6GHz bands, as well as both standalone and non-standalone deployments, meaning it’s compatible with almost any 5G network in use today. In testing, Qualcomm says the X51 put up download speeds in the ballpark of 2.5 Gbps over a 5G connection. Uploads, meanwhile, maxed out at 660 Mbps. The modem is no slouch when it comes to LTE either, with it delivering theoretical downloading speeds of about 800 Mbps. Obviously you won’t get those kinds of numbers in daily use, but provided you live in an area with 5G coverage, Snapdragon 480 devices should feel plenty fast.