Qualcomm kicked off its annual 5G Summit by revealing its latest chipset for high-end smartphones, the Snapdragon 778G 5G mobile platform, set to be used  by device makers Honor, iQOO, Motorola, Oppo, Realme, and Xiaomi.

The Snapdragon 778G 5G system-on-chip is manufactured by TSMC using a 6nm process. It runs the X53 5G Modem-RF System, and in addition to 5G it supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.

The company claims the Snapdragon 778G 5G mobile platform offers enhanced photography and mobile gaming using AI.

For gamers, the new chipset promises 30 per cent faster input response, with the GPU upgraded to boost power efficiency without sacrificing visual fidelity.

Qualcomm CMO Penny Baldwin told Mobile World Live the company is confident that growth in mobile gaming will outlast the lockdowns associated with Covid-19 (coronavirus). As people venture out more, gaming activity may move from home-based PCs to mobile devices. Baldwin noted that according to the most recent industry research, there are 2.7 billion gamers worldwide.

Qualcomm explained that in addition to enhancements for gaming, its AI improves the quality of video calls and reduces background noise.

Qualcomm also announced upgrades to its Snapdragon X65 5G modem-RF system, including a wider 200MHz carrier bandwidth in mmWave spectrum which the company explained will be important as Chinese operators deploy the frequency, building on their current launches using lower bands.

“We are empowering the ecosystem to bring next generation Rel-16 5G products as early as late 2021 and helping create new business opportunities across computing, CPEs, XR, gaming, industrial IoT and beyond”, said Durga Malladi, SVP and GM of 4G and 5G.

Malladi added Qualcomm expects half a billion 5G smartphones to ship this year, and noted network rollouts are progressing faster than LTE, with 150 operators globally having deployed the next-generation technology.