Your Android phone will be faster than your broadband later this year following a huge upgrade announcement from Qualcomm.
If you’ve had enough of Netflix buffering mid-way through your latest binge-watch because your broadband can’t hack it, watch this space. It won’t be long before your phone could be the better option rather than logging into the Wi-Fi.
US tech giant Qualcomm – whose processors power some of the current best smartphones, including the Samsung Galaxy S25 – has announced the launch of its new X85 5G system that will soon come within premium phones.
The 5G modem has the power to deliver speeds of over 12Gpbs, if the network allows, which means your next Android phone could be more than 12 times faster than the UK’s current best fixed-line broadband. In fact, at those speeds, you could download a film in Full HD in just one second.
The 5G system won’t just be handy for when your home broadband isn’t cutting it. The X85 is also claimed to be much more power efficient meaning when you’re using 4G and 5G on your phone when out and about, it should have less impact on your phone’s battery life.
The X85 5G modem will be built into upcoming premium phones, though it’s currently not been announced which ones those will be. Apple recently launched the entry-level iPhone 16e that is the first Apple device to use Apple’s own 5G modem rather than one from Qualcomm, but it’s not yet clear if the iPhone 17, due out later this year, could revert back to opting for Qualcomm’s tech, and possibly the X85.
If not, we’d expect the X85 5G to be in premium Android phones hopefully sometime this year, while the X82 5G modem, which was also announced alongside the X85, is likely to appear in mid-range phones.
The X82 modem might not be as powerful as the X85, but it could still be better than your broadband depending on what speeds you get at home.
