Qualcomm releases seven IoT devices

  • June 9, 2021
  • Steve Rogerson

Qualcomm has released seven IoT devices to deliver edge-AI performance, power-efficiency, 5G connectivity and features for processing and security from entry level to premium tiers.

Qualcomm is enabling an IoT ecosystem of more than 13,000 IoT users to date, helping accelerate the digital transformation and development of connected products. Now, it has extended its support for the IoT ecosystem by introducing seven products to enable the proliferation of devices: QCS8250, QCS6490, QCM6490, QCS4290, QCM4290, QCS2290 and QCM2290.

These range from entry-level to premium tier to expand access to various industrial and commercial applications. They are purpose-built to help meet the needs of the expanding IoT ecosystem for segments such as transportation and logistics, warehousing, video collaboration, smart cameras, retail, and healthcare.

“Qualcomm is uniquely positioned to lead the IoT ecosystem forward with our systems-level approach,” said Jeff Lorbeck, senior vice president at Qualcomm. “Along with the recently announced Qualcomm 315 5G IoT modem, these new IoT solutions further exemplify our commitment to driving global digital transformation and providing a portfolio to transform industrial and enterprise IoT applications to achieve cutting edge performance and seamless connectivity. We believe in the power of technology to enrich lives through purposeful innovation to support the ecosystem in reimagining how the world connects, works and communicates.”

The seven products offer capabilities for smart devices and connectivity with extended life hardware and software options for achieving long-term support for at least eight years:

The QCS8250 is a premium-tier offering, optimised for high performance at the best power efficiency possible enabling compute intensive AI at the edge with support for Qualcomm Wifi 6 offerings and 5G connectivity. This is designed to deliver premium-level performance through the Qualcomm Kryo 585 CPU architecture, AI engine and image signal processor to support up to seven concurrent cameras with encode at up to 4K resolution at 120 frames per second.

It includes a neural processing unit for intuitive AI in addition to machine learning for compute-intensive IoT applications to enable smart cameras, video collaboration, AI hubs, connected healthcare and smart retail.

The QCS6490 and QCM6490 are built to deliver premium-tier features including global 5G connectivity and fast Wifi 6E for high-tier IoT devices. With the Kryo 670 CPU architecture, they are built for industrial and commercial IoT applications such as transportation, warehousing, connected healthcare, logistics management and retail point of sale (PoS) kiosks.

Equipped to support 5G mm-wave, sub-6GHz and Wifi 6E, they can help enable rugged handhelds and tablets, industrial scanners, and human machine interfaces.

The QCS4290 and QCM4290, with the Kryo 260 CPU architecture and AI engine, deliver dynamic camera capabilities and connectivity options such as LTE Cat 13 and Wifi 6-Ready for industrial and commercial IoT applications such as industrial handhelds in logistics and warehousing, security panels and cameras.

The QCS2290 and QCM2290 are entry-level offerings, enabling performance and power-conservation with LTE connectivity, upgraded features and memory support for low power consumption. Equipped with the Arm Cortex A53 CPU architecture, the platform is suitable for retail PoS, industrial handheld, tracking and camera applications. Also, the baseband chip is pin-to-pin compatible with QCS4290 and QCM4290 so designers can use hardware and software across various IoT devices to reduce cost and time to commercialisation.

The QCS8250, QCS4290, QCM4290, QCS2290 and QCM2290 are available now. The QCS6490 and QCM6490 are expected to be available in the second half of 2021.

“Qualcomm’s newest IoT solutions mark an exciting step forward in the global proliferation of next-generation IoT devices,” said Patrick Qian, chief executive officer at Quectel. “These are highly compatible with Quectel’s existing 5G and LTE modules, allowing customers to accelerate their designs with fast time to market. We are very proud to work with Qualcomm as we continue to enable the growth of the internet of things.”

YN Chen, vice-chief executive officer for iBase Technology, added: “With the recommendation of Hongtech, we have adopted the next-gen premium-tier processor, the Qualcomm QCS8250, into our Qualcomm-based Smarc module which provides power efficiency and superior performance with 4K resolution at 120 frames per second video resolution, making it an ideal choice for high-tier multi-display and multi-camera signage, IWB, video conferencing or retail analytics applications.”