Analyst(s): Olivier Blanchard
Publication Date: March 14, 2025
Qualcomm has introduced the X85 5G Modem-RF, its most advanced modem-to-antenna solution, designed to push 5G Advanced connectivity to new heights. Featuring an AI-powered processor and 12.5 Gbps peak download speeds, the X85 enhances power efficiency, network reliability, and seamless connectivity across smartphones, PCs, IoT, and fixed wireless access. This launch reinforces Qualcomm’s leadership in 5G innovation, setting a benchmark for AI-driven mobile connectivity.
What is Covered in this Article:
- Qualcomm introduces X85 5G Modem-RF with AI-driven network optimization.
- Delivers 12.5 Gbps download, 3.7 Gbps upload speeds, and 30% faster AI inference.
- Supports all global 5G bands, including sub-6GHz and mmWave.
- First downlink carrier aggregation with 400MHz bandwidth in Sub-6GHz.
- 3GPP Release 18-ready, enabling future 5G Advanced networks.
The News: Qualcomm Technologies has introduced the X85 5G Modem-RF, its latest modem-to-antenna system and the fourth generation of its AI-powered 5G technology. Designed for Android smartphones, PCs, IoT, and fixed wireless access, the X85 delivers 12.5 Gbps download speeds, 3.7 Gbps upload speeds, and 30% faster AI inference, improving latency, coverage, and power efficiency.
Backed by global carriers such as China Telecom, Google, KDDI, NTT DOCOMO, T-Mobile, and Verizon, the X85 is positioned as a top-tier solution offering network reliability and spectrum flexibility. Alongside it, Qualcomm also introduced the X82 5G Modem-RF, a more mainstream option for mobile broadband. Both chips are currently in testing and will debut in commercial devices in the second half of 2025.
Qualcomm’s X85 5G Modem Sets New AI-Powered Speed and Efficiency Benchmark
Analyst Take: The X85 5G Modem-RF represents a major leap in 5G Advanced technology, integrating AI-powered efficiency, cutting-edge spectrum support, and record-breaking speeds. If 12.5 Gbps peak download and 3.7 Gbps peak upload speeds aren’t enough to impress, 30% faster AI inference should. In many ways, the X85 isn’t just the most impressive high-speed modem on the market – it also brings intelligent network optimization and enhanced power efficiency unavailable in any other modem solution.
Support from critical industry partners like Google, T-Mobile, and Verizon also helps Qualcomm continue to build on its leadership in 5G modem technology. This comes at a potentially disruptive moment for Qualcomm: Apple’s in-house modem development has been showing concrete signs of progress, with its C1 solution turning up in the new iPhone 16e, and MediaTek’s AI-driven modems also putting competitive pressure on the Android ecosystem.
The X85 modem does provide Qualcomm with a fresh platform with which to deliver clear differentiation and advantages in an increasingly competitive market environment, and from what we can tell so far, it delivers on that opportunity.
AI-Driven 5G: Enhancing Network Performance and Efficiency
Building on its predecessor’s AI optimizations, the X85 enhances on-device AI processing with 30% faster inference speeds, leading to improved latency, reliability, and energy efficiency. Its AI-driven traffic prioritization dynamically manages bandwidth allocation, ensuring smooth performance for video streaming, cloud gaming, and AI-driven applications while optimizing battery life.
Additionally, the X85 improves network transitions, enabling seamless Wi-Fi-to-cellular switching and enhanced network slicing to maximize upload speeds. Its AI-powered signal management further refines connectivity, adapting to weak-signal environments and network congestion to maintain consistent high-speed performance.
The types of AI-enabled capabilities powering the X85 are becoming increasingly critical for modems moving forward. While we expect to see them become relatively common across all vendors, it will be interesting to see if Qualcomm is able to maintain the performance advantage against its competitors.
Spectrum Leadership and Unmatched Carrier Aggregation
Qualcomm continues its spectrum leadership, with the X85 supporting all global 5G bands – from 0.6 GHz to 41 GHz, covering sub-6GHz, mmWave, and emerging bands like n104 in China. Its converged mmWave-Sub6 transceiver and QTM565 mmWave module provide carriers with unmatched network optimization flexibility.
A key breakthrough is the industry’s first downlink carrier aggregation with 400MHz bandwidth in Sub-6GHz, paired with 1024-QAM for higher data rates and improved efficiency. Qualcomm has also introduced uplink-optimization features that enhance upload speeds, a critical improvement as cloud-based processing and AI-driven applications demand faster two-way connectivity.
Competition: Apple, MediaTek, and the Changing Modem Landscape
While Apple’s custom C1 modem, which just launched in the iPhone 16e, lacks mmWave support, we expect to see Apple push to field more robust and competitive modem solutions by March 2027, when its licensing agreement with Qualcomm is set to expire. While it is unlikely that Apple will be able to catch up to Qualcomm’s next generations of performance and feature enhancements in such a tight timeframe, we expect Apple to take the default position that its modems will be good enough for most iPhone users.
We also expect that Apple’s market-facing narrative will focus heavily on the technical and UX benefits of injecting Apple-native customizations into its own in-house modems, echoing a similar argument made by Apple (and Google, among others) about the virtues of switching to their own in-house custom processors. While the argument makes sense for processors, it may not bear out for modems, however, which are far more complex and specialized to develop, test, and integrate properly.
One thing is certain: Timelines aside, Apple appears committed to replacing Qualcomm’s 5G modems with its own by the end of their licensing agreement. Barring missed milestones, we expect Apple to make good on its plan to lower its dependence on Qualcomm, at least on the modem hardware side. (Apple will still likely continue to pay licensing royalties to Qualcomm for associated IP, however.)
Meanwhile, MediaTek’s M90 5G modem looks to be delivering solid AI-powered connectivity. It gives the company a decent shot at finding its way into more premium Android devices with intelligent optimizations. MediaTek’s volume advantage in the Android SOC space also provides it with a decent one-stop-shop sales pitch, which could spell trouble for Qualcomm, particularly in the mid-to-premium tiers.
Despite these challenges, Qualcomm’s deep ecosystem partnerships and expertise in modem-to-antenna integration continue to secure its dominance in high-performance 5G connectivity, and while “good enough” works at some price tiers, “best-in-class” also carries its own powerful value proposition that Qualcomm can carry into an ever-expanding ecosystem. Case in point: The X85’s broad adoption across multiple industries – smartphones, PCs, IoT, and fixed wireless access – ensures its continued relevance well beyond mobile devices. An added benefit of Qualcomm’s diversification strategy, beyond creating multiple on-ramps for growth, is that it should help insulate its modem-RF business from Apple’s withdrawal. The trajectory of Qualcomm’s modem-RF business expansion strategy in recent years certainly suggests that absorbing the impact of an eventual Apple withdrawal was part of the plan.
What’s Next? The Road to 5G Advanced and Beyond
With 3GPP Release 18 readiness, the X85 is built to power the next evolution of 5G Advanced networks. Qualcomm’s emphasis on AI-driven 5G optimization lays the foundation for real-time intelligent network management, enabling emerging applications like AR/VR and autonomous systems to harness next-gen connectivity.
As carriers expand their 5G standalone networks and AI-driven applications evolve, the X85 is set to define the new benchmark for premium connectivity. Qualcomm’s strong alliances with global telecom operators will drive widespread adoption, shaping the future of 5G performance and AI-driven mobile experiences.
Additionally, in recent conversations we had with Qualcomm ahead of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the subject of 6G started coming up for the first time in earnest. This suggests that Qualcomm is likely to begin its pivot to 6G just as Apple starts to catch up to its 5G IP in the 2026-2027 timeframe.
What to Watch:
- Apple’s custom modem strategy could negatively impact Qualcomm’s share of the high-end smartphone modem market sometime in 2027 when Apple hopes to transition away from third-party modem suppliers.
- MediaTek’s AI-driven M90 modem targeting premium Android devices will drive more competitive pressure in the AI-powered 5G connectivity space.
- Enterprise and industrial IoT adoption of 5G Advanced is expected to continue expanding Qualcomm’s modem use cases beyond smartphones and consumer devices and should more than make up for Apple’s business loss.
- Carrier partnerships and regulatory approvals will influence the global availability and adoption of the X85 across different markets.
- Expect the first serious discussions about 6G technology to enter the chat this year. Note that transitions from one G generation to the next generally fall every 9-10 years, meaning that the timeframe for the transition to 6G technology is only 4-5 years away.
See the complete press release on the Qualcomm X85 5G Modem-RF launch and its AI-driven capabilities on the Qualcomm website.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
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Qualcomm’s Q1 FY 2025 Earnings: Record QCT Revenue and Expanding AI Adoption
MWC 2025: Qualcomm and IBM Raise GenAI Competitive Stakes
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Author Information
Research Director Olivier Blanchard covers edge semiconductors and intelligent AI-capable devices for Futurum. In addition to having co-authored several books about digital transformation and AI with Futurum Group CEO Daniel Newman, Blanchard brings considerable experience demystifying new and emerging technologies, advising clients on how best to future-proof their organizations, and helping maximize the positive impacts of technology disruption while mitigating their potentially negative effects. Follow his extended analysis on X and LinkedIn.
