Samsung has teased and announced a lot of products at CES 2018. While most of the action at CES is consumer-facing, the company also reportedly demonstrated some new technology behind closed doors to various industry partners.
It was reported earlier that Samsung showed its foldable smartphone prototype to its partners at CES 2018, but then again, this is a rumor that we've been hearing every year. According to a report in Business Korea, Samsung also reportedly showcased its Exynos 5G modem in a private exhibition room to partners at CES 2018. The report states that Samsung will officially reveal the 5G modem later this year. Samsung plans to carry out 5G network trials with mobile carriers and commercially launch the modem in 2019.
Theoretical speeds of up to 5Gbps
Samsung's Exynos 5G modem can reach a theoretical speed of up to 5Gbps, up from the 1.2Gbps supported by the modem in its latest Exynos processor. The 5G modem also works with existing 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE technologies.
Samsung's smartphone business is vertically integrated to a large extent with Samsung manufacturing most of the components used in its smartphones. Processors are a big exception with Samsung relying on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors for its flagship smartphones sold in key markets like the US and China. Prevalence of CDMA technology and cost of licensing patents held by Qualcomm are often cited as a reason for Samsung’s decision to use Qualcomm chips in these markets.
This will help Samsung reduce its reliance on Qualcomm for modem chips that it will use in 5G smartphones. Both Qualcomm and Intel have already announced their 5G modems last year. Now, Samsung is joining them in the race to develop and dominate the 5G modem market.
