Qualcomm’s X105 5G chip could help stretch smartphone battery life even further

Recent developments in battery technology have driven a stop change in smartphone battery life, but could Qualcomm’s latest 5G modem technology extend it even further?

The Qualcomm X105, which is set to be included in the next generation of smartphones, has a reported 30% lower power consumption than its predecessor, the X85 5G modem, could contribute to never-before-seen levels of efficiency.

In 2027, with massive silicon-carbon batteries becoming the norm, we could see smartphones regularly lasting three days instead of one or two, as has become the norm over the past few years.

Of course, Qualcomm’s latest 5G model isn’t just about efficiency. It’s also 15% smaller than before, potentially enabling manufacturers to squeeze in even larger batteries for epic, multi-day battery life.

Like its predecessor, the X105 also supports NR-NTN satellite connectivity – so let’s hope Samsung includes Snapdragon chips in its European phones next year.

There’s also now quad-frequency GPS support for the first time in a mobile modem. This should deliver greater positioning accuracy in tricky environments, and also up to 25% power savings, according to Qualcomm.

And if all that wasn’t quite enough for you, the new modem also builds in support for agentic AI, which Qualcomm said will be able to help the modem predict RF (radio frequency) conditions and adapt to them in real time. This could potentially provide more stable connectivity than the current generation of 5G modems – important given how congested the 5G spectrum seems to be getting in many places already.

There’s no concrete word on which devices will see the introduction of the X105 modem chipset first, but you can expect to see it accompany flagship models with the next generation of top-end Snapdragon chips, at the end of 2026 and through 2027.

Written By

Jonathan Bray

Head of reviews at Expert Reviews, Jon has been testing and writing about products since before most of you were born (well, only if you were born after 1996). In that time he’s tested and reviewed hundreds of laptops, PCs, smartphones, vacuum cleaners, coffee machines, doorbells, cameras and more. He’s worked on websites since the early days of tech, writing game reviews for AOL and hardware reviews for PC Pro, Computer Buyer and other print publications. He’s also had work published in Trusted Reviews, Computing Which? and The Observer. And yet, even after so many years in the industry, there’s still nothing more he loves than getting to grips with a new product and putting it through its paces.

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