Samsung joins the 5G race with its Exynos Modem 5100 chip

[Matrix]

Something to look forward to: We know that 5G is set to be the next big thing in the tech industry, which is why companies are racing to support it. While Korean giant Samsung recently said that next year’s Galaxy S10 wouldn’t be 5G capable, the firm has just released a new modem for devices that are: the Exynos Modem 5100.

At the recent Note 9 Unpacked event, Samsung mobile president DJ Koh said the company is working with South Korea’s carriers to release the first 5G phone, though it won’t be the Galaxy S10.

Whatever this separate device turns out to be, it will contain the Exynos Modem 5100. Built on the 10nm process, the chip supports both sub-6GHz and mmWave spectrums along with legacy networks including 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE.

“As the industry prepares the shift toward 5G, Samsung will continue to drive the growth of innovative ideas and new services in mobile applications and other emerging industries,” said Dr. Inyup Kang, president and head of System LSI Business at Samsung Electronics.

Qualcomm already has a 5G modem in the form of the X50, but Samsung says its version is the first that will be fully compatible with 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 15, the most up-to-date standard spec for 5G New Radio.

Samsung says the Exynos Modem 5100 can hit peak download speeds of up to 2Gbps using sub-6GHz spectrum and 6Gbps using mmWave signals. On 4G, it can reach download speeds of 1.6Gbps

Samsung didn’t say when the Exynos Modem 5100 will arrive but did reveal that it would launch sometime before the end of this year.

In related news, Sprint this week said that it was working with LG to launch a 5G smartphone in the first half of 2019.

 

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