Qualcomm’s latest mobile chip will let you wirelessly stream 4K Ultra HD video to your TV from your phone.
The chipmaker hopes that this feature of its Snapdragon 810 chip will do away with the need for HDMI cables hanging out the back of your TV like a nest of serpents.
The Snapdragon 810 processor will be the world’s first mobile chip to support WiGig, a type of WiFi that allows for fast wireless data streams.
WiGig transmits data on the 60GHz frequency, instead of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies used by dual-band WiFi devices.
This high frequency isn’t very good at penetrating walls, so it’s better suited for streaming to devices in the same room. Direct line of sight is not necessary as signals will bounce off of walls, ceilings and floors.
LG demonstrated wireless 4K phone-to-TV video streaming at Mobile World Congress 2013, but Qualcomm says that WiGig is more than just about streaming 4K video.
Snapdragon 810 will also allow for tri-band communications, meaning when your phone is connected to your TV or laptop using WiGig, it’ll switch to 5GHz or 2.4GHz WiFi if you move out of a room.
As it’s name suggests, WiGig will transmit data at gigabit speeds. According to Qualcomm latency is ‘near-equivalent’ to a wired connection, meaning we could finally say goodbye to HDMI cables and even USB cables in our living rooms.
If that wasn’t enough, Snapdragon 810 also features a CAT6 modem, meaning means phones, tablets and dongles with this chip will be able to tap into the top speeds available on EE’s 4G network.
While no Snapdragon 810 phones, tablets or TV sets have been announced yet, the rumoured HTC Volantis is said to run on the new Qualcomm chip. No WiGig TV sets have been revealed as of yet, but with IFA in Germany and Ceatec still to come this year, we could see the first 4K WiGig sets emerging.
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