Qualcomm has released a new range of cellular connectivity modules for IoT devices. The seven new products range from entry-level to premium tier to expand access to a variety of industrial and commercial applications, including transportation and logistics, warehousing, video collaboration, smart cameras, retail and healthcare.
The Qualcomm QCS8250 is the premium-tier offering, optimized to enable maximum performance at the greatest power efficiency possible for intensive AI at the edge. It comes with support for Wi-Fi 6 and 5G, with the Qualcomm Kryo 585 CPU architecture, latest Qualcomm AI Engine and an image signal processor to support up to 7 concurrent cameras with 4K resolution at 120 frames per second. The new Neural Processing Unit supports AI and machine learning for products such as smart cameras, video collaboration, AI hubs, connected healthcare and smart retail.
The next tier is the Qualcomm QCS6490 and QCM6490, also with global 5G connectivity and Wi-Fi 6E, and available from the second half of this year. These come with the Kryo 670 CPU architecture targeting industrial and commercial IoT applications such as transportation, warehousing, connected healthcare, logistics management and POS kiosks. The models can support triple ISPs and advanced edge-AI based on the 6th generation Qualcomm AI Engine.
The Qualcomm QCS4290 and QCM4290 are aimed at mid-tier devices, running the Kryo 260 CPU and 3rd generation Qualcomm AI Engine. This platform supports LTE Cat13 and is ready for upgrade to Wi-Fi 6.
For the entry-level market, the company has the Qualcomm QCS2290 and QCM2290 with LTE connectivity and memory support for low power consumption. Equipped with the Cortex A53 CPU architecture, this cost-effective solution is aimed at retail point-of-sale, industrial handheld, tracking and camera applications.
Customers supporting the new modules include Arrow Electronics, Zebra, Amtran, EInfoChips, Honeywell, Fibocom, Lanotronix and Quectel.
