Qualcomm took to its newsroom blog today to take a nostalgic look at some of the innovations it helped to bring as Android OS firsts and a brief look into its future ambitions as the leading provider of SoCs and solutions for the mobile world. First, the company wanted to share a list of its previous implementations in the mobile arena. Touting its partnerships with OEMs over the past decade, the company has been a key foundational player in Android since almost its first inception, paving the way for new advancements in rapid charging capabilities, LTE radios, and performance chipsets. According to Qualcomm, its model has always been to make its technologies available “as broadly as possible” to the mobile industry using its licensing program, and this includes both larger, more global companies as well as startups that are just beginning to offer something to consumers.
The list itself, as Qualcomm admits, is not in any way comprehensive. It would be exceptionally difficult to outline each and every new innovation the company has brought forward over the past ten years. Highlights include the “Fast Charging/Quick Charging” that the vast majority of modern flagship devices are known for, with first implementations being shown for the HTC One M8, LG V30, and Xiaomi Mi5. Qualcomm also points out the first instance of Gigabit LTE, which can be found in the hugely popular Samsung Galaxy S8 – an advance put in place despite that most network configurations worldwide still don’t support that level of speed, in anticipation of future network enhancements. Many of the innovations begun by Qualcomm and found in the list – which is included below – remain Android platform exclusives still.
The majority of items Qualcomm has listed, and nearly all of those it didn’t, have obviously moved far beyond their initial introductions to become de facto standards in the modern smartphone world. However, the company also hints at far more to come as the technology continues to advance and more demand than ever is placed on smartphones for users’ day to day lives. Looking to the future, the company says it is investing in the discovery of its next big “firsts” in continued collaboration with its OEM and manufacturing partners from the Android ecosystem – whether through start-ups, wearables, or whatever else the industry might pursue next.
