Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 778G chipset, aimed at premium midrange handsets, and X65 5G modem, which is more efficient and offers wider mmWave support
Plus a new M.2 reference design to help put 5G in more of your stuff — Qualcomm has announced a new 700-series chipset for mobile devices: the Snapdragon 778G 5G.
Context & Ripple Effects
Qualcomm's mid-range Snapdragon line has been on an annual refresh cycle: last May it shipped the Snapdragon 768G with faster graphics and global 5G, and back in 2019 it committed to putting integrated 5G modems across the 600 and 700 series by 2020 (that integration plan). The new 778G continues that playbook, aimed at the premium midrange tier where most 5G handset volume actually lands.
The modem side follows the same generational ladder as the Snapdragon X55 before it — each X-series step adds efficiency and broader band support. The X65 pushes that further with wider mmWave coverage, and a new M.2 reference design extends Qualcomm's 5G silicon beyond phones entirely.
First-order effects
- Handset makers targeting the premium midrange segment get a drop-in successor to the 768G, letting them ship 5G devices at lower price points without designing around flagship silicon.
- Device makers gain wider mmWave support through the X65, expanding which carriers and regions their designs can serve on a single modem part.
Second-order effects
- Rival chipset vendors competing in the sub-flagship tier now face a refreshed Qualcomm part that pairs midrange pricing with near-current-generation modem capability, forcing matching updates on their own midrange roadmaps.
- The M.2 reference design opens a second front: laptop, router, and other non-phone makers get a standardized path to embed 5G, widening Qualcomm's addressable market beyond handsets.
Third-order effects
- If the annual 7-series refresh plus modem-generation pairing holds, the midrange tier — not flagships — becomes the structural battleground where 5G adoption is won on cost and coverage breadth.
- A standardized M.2 path points toward 5G connectivity becoming a commodity module across device categories, decoupling cellular access from phone-specific engineering.
The trend: Qualcomm is industrializing 5G down the price stack — annual midrange chipsets, successive modem generations, and reference designs pushing cellular into every device category.