How does X12 LTE achieve those speeds? In the downlink (from the cell tower to the phone), it can bond together three LTE connections using LTE Advanced carrier aggregation and treat them like one much faster connection. In the uplink, the phone can send data to the tower on two LTE connections simultaneously, again using carrier aggregation.

Plus—and this is new—the X12 LTE modem supports “higher order modulation” on both the uplink and the downlink to achieve even higher speeds than would be possible with carrier aggregation alone. If you want to learn how that works, please see the “Appendix for Nerds” at the end of this post.

It doesn’t just stop at super-fast LTE. If you think you know how fast Wi-Fi can be, Snapdragon 820 is here to defy your expectations. With support for 802.11ac 2x2 MU-MIMO, which fundamentally changes how Wi-Fi works, Snapdragon 820 can support Wi-Fi speeds that are two-to-three times faster in crowded areas like airports, offices, or even your home (think about how many smartphones, tablets, and streaming boxes compete for bandwidth every night in your home).

Snapdragon 820 even supports the latest flavor of Wi-Fi—802.11ad—which supports multi-gigabit speeds. Just image what you can do with those kinds of speeds: multiple 4K Ultra HD video streams; lossless, instantaneous screen mirroring to your TV; the pure joy of backing up your smartphone’s entire camera roll to your network drive in mere seconds. With Snapdragon 820, I say, “all of the above.”

But wait, there’s more!

Why are LTE and Wi-Fi spoken of separately? They really shouldn’t be. We think bringing them together just makes so much sense. And that’s what we’ve engineered the X12 LTE to do.

For starters, the X12 LTE modem is designed to choose automatically between LTE and Wi-Fi, depending on signal quality, end-to-end speed, and Internet reachability. (Again, consult the “Appendix for Nerds” at the end if you want to know how it all works).

These smarts to choose between LTE and Wi-Fi really come in handy with Wi-Fi calling. Where the X10 LTE in Snapdragon 810 checked only for Wi-Fi signal strength before switching, the X12 LTE is engineered to first check all the factors listed above, to make sure that you’ll have a clear, high quality call over Wi-Fi. And if things deteriorate (for example, if congestion reduces speed on a public Wi-Fi hotspot), it’s engineered to switch your call back to the safety of LTE—all without dropping the call. Brilliant.

By the way, not only does the X12 LTE modem support HD Voice calls over LTE and Wi-Fi, it even supports native HD Video calls. So you can pick up the phone, dial your friend’s number, and have a video call instead of just voice—no extra apps needed. Awesome.

Wi-Fi calling is one example of bringing together not just LTE and Wi-Fi, but also bringing together licensed and unlicensed spectrum, the two types of airwaves that make all these amazing wireless technologies possible. But you know what? It’s time to bring those two much closer together—with LTE in unlicensed, a.k.a. LTE-U. It represents a fundamental shift in how mobile networks are deployed.

LTE-U timeline

Qualcomm Technologies first introduced the concept of LTE-U back in late 2013, and we’ve been working hard at taking it from a concept, to prototyping in the lab, and now bringing it to the real world.

LTE-U will allow operators to deploy small, compact cell towers called “small cells” (similar in size to a Wi-Fi router) in areas with a lot of demand for LTE data, for example in an airport, a mall, or at a crowded city street corner. When in range of those LTE-U small cells, phones using Snapdragon 820 with X12 LTE processors will be able to connect using at least two LTE connections: one in the operator’s regular licensed spectrum, and a new LTE connection in unlicensed spectrum. The two connections are bonded together using carrier aggregation to act like a bigger, faster connection.

If you’re the proud owner of a new phone powered by the Snapdragon 820, expected in the first half of 2016, and you’re on a network that supports LTE-U, you may experience a sudden boost in LTE speeds in areas that normally suffer from congestion. Not only would that let you get stuff done faster (like downloading that game at the airport before getting on the plane), and confirm that you made the right decision by investing in a phone with Snapdragon 820 (we applaud you), but you’d actually be making things better for all the other users within your vicinity as well. Why? Because LTE-U just allowed you to finish your download way faster, and now the network can turn its attention to serve the other users who were in queue behind you. Well done you.

Now you may be asking, “I know Wi-Fi uses unlicensed spectrum. Should I be worried about how LTE-U will affect my Wi-Fi?” From the very start, Qualcomm Technologies designed LTE-U to co-exist and share unlicensed spectrum fairly with Wi-Fi. You have to remember that Qualcomm Technologies is a leader not just in LTE, but in Wi-Fi as well. We understand the technology deeply. So we took special care while designing and implementing LTE-U to really, really make sure that it will have no more of an impact on Wi-Fi than deploying a normal Wi-Fi access point. You can read how we debunked that LTE-U myth, and others.

How about a demo though?

Great idea. You’re among the first in the world to see real X12 LTE silicon showing off its LTE-U chops on camera. And the best part? The video will show you just how well LTE-U and Wi-Fi work in the presence of each other.