PC World - USA (2021-01)

JANUARY 2021 PCWorld 23

technology at over 100Mbits at 5 km, though
it hasn’t been commercially deployed.)
So-called “sub-6” 5G has been deployed by
carriers like T-Mobile; it offers somewhat
comparable coverage as 4G LTE, but with
higher bandwidth.
As TECHnysis analyst Bob O’Donnell
points out (go.pcworld.com/bodl), though,
T-Mobile’s “5G” speeds are enabled by a
technology called 5G NR Dual Connectivity,
which ties existing 4G wireless channels to
5G, enabling a quick-and-dirty increase in
bandwidth that’s about 20 percent faster. The
4G “anchor band” will eventually go away,
leaving 5G carriers to operate in what’s
known as “standalone mode.”
The X60 allows what’s known as sub-6
carrier aggregation, which combines several
sub-6GHz channels, increasing the available

throughput without the need for mmWave

coverage. Carriers in the United States are

currently adding that capability, according to

Qualcomm. The X60 also supports mmWave-

sub-6 aggregation for even more bandwidth,

but that’s due to be rolled out by U.S. carriers

late in 2021.

Don’t forget about Wi-Fi 6E. The

FastConnect 6900 now supports the 6GHz

channel that Wi-Fi 6E added. WiFi 6E’s 6GHz

channel has been scooped up by mesh

routers as a dedicated backchannel to the

home gateway, uninterrupted by the

mishmash of 2.4GHz and 5GHz

communications on Wi-Fi 6 routers.

Smartphones using the Snapdragon 888 will

be able to tap into it, too.

Other noteworthy features include

Bluetooth 5.2 with not one but two antennas.

Bluetooth 5.2, launched

last January, lowers the

power draw, improves

audio quality, and most

importantly, adds multi-

stream audio, which could

allow you to stream music

to a public speaker while

still taking a private call on

your Bluetooth earbuds.

CAMERA

For many, the smartphone

camera continues to be

one of the key criteria

Qualcomm showed off the power of the Snapdragon 888 and its 5G
radios by racing RC cars from a mile away.