TechInsights hosted 3 webinars focused on Mobile RF technology and trends to watch for in 2022. With commentary, insights, and predictions from some of the top minds in the Mobile RF landscape, the TechInsights’ subject matter experts discussed who will be the dominant RF players, the different approaches taken to address the increased complexity brought by new standards, and the new antenna modules used by Apple in the iPhone 12 and 13.

Who will dominate in RF?

The advent of 5G has dramatically increased the complexity of the cellular radios in mobile phones. This has posed new challenges to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) working to supply multiple wireless operators and component suppliers tasked with higher radio performance while keeping component counts and costs down. Having deep visibility into current market trends and comparing market-leading approaches enable more informed and strategic decisions for optimal mobile radio design to increase competitive differentiation.

Christopher Taylor, TechInsights’ Lead Analyst, and Radu Trandafir, TechInsights’ RF Subject Matter Expert, examined key decisions faced by OEMs when choosing components to help you understand how market-leading approaches stack up.

Mobile RF: A Patent and Technology Perspective

Mobile RF innovation aims to improve performance while also reducing cost, complexity, and power. Manufacturers today, however, are faced with increased complexity brought about by new standards (such as 5G), carrier aggregation, multi-mode phones, and consumers’ ever-increasing demands for bandwidth and reduced power consumption.

John Sullivan, TechInsights’ Senior IP Solutions Analyst, provided a look at market and design wins, the mobile RF patent landscape, and the library of analysis that can be leveraged for patent investigations to find evidence of use or prior art in this space.

mmWave Antenna Module Implementation, Considerations for 5G Smartphones

Many of the major players in the smartphone space traditionally use the Qualcomm SDX-5x/6x series of modems and have adopted an implementation scheme based exclusively on the Qualcomm QTM5x5 antenna in package (AiP). Apple, instead, is putting their own signature on a design with three mmWave antenna modules (two passive and one active (AiP)), which are not a QTM5x5 package.

In this presentation, Radu Trandafir, TechInsights’ RF Subject Matter Expert, took a closer look at the three mmWave antenna modules used by Apple in the iPhone 12 and 13, which marked an interesting departure from the “traditional” Qualcomm-based architecture at the implementation level.

These live sessions are available to view free on our website.