In what could be seen as a well-planned strategy to go toe-to-toe with archrival Qualcomm — perhaps even outshine it — Intel is launching its own XMM 7560 LTE modem that comes with a groundbreaking download and upload speeds for mobile devices.
This seems like a serious attempt by Intel to make inroads to the top of the LTE modem market.
The new product is built using 14nm FinFET, meaning the chip die can be shrunk further and be added to mobile devices while consuming far less amount of energy. Also, being the first of its kind to come with Nokia’s LTE Standard Pro compatibility, the new chip can potentially deliver a download speed of over 1 Gbps, and upload speed of 225 Mbps.
In addition, Intel has also bestowed the XMM 7560 LTE modem with 5x carrier aggregation support, plus 4 x 4 MIMO and 256QAM, all of which collectively ensure that the chip can rightfully claim its position among the most sophisticated connectivity providers in the market.
The modem’s band support range is also something that paints the XMM 7560 in a good light. It offers around 100 MHz of band support, many of them usable for high-speed data services. To add more to its charm, the modem also flaunts added advantages such as power savings and design flexibility. That essentially means that it could also be used in wearables in the future, giving future-generation smartwatches and other similar devices a much faster connectivity without leaving any adverse impact on the battery life.
Intel XMM 7560 LTE modem specs and features
The products brings:
- 3GPP Rel-13, and MIMO support (downlink: 2 x 2, 4 x 2, 8 x 2, 4 x 4, 8 x 4).
- LAA-LTE/WiFi link aggregation
- Carrier aggregation support across FDD and TDD spectrum
- Support for Network Assisted Interference Cancellation and Suppression (NAICS)
- Support for multi-SIM that includes the increasingly prevalent LTE/LTE combination
- Support for downlink aggregation of four non-contiguous bands up to 100 MHz
As for availability, Intel has gone on record saying that the XMM 7560 samples will be available for testing within the first half of this year.