NavIC Will Be Limited to Devices Powered By Snapdragon 865 and Later SoCs 6m1f3r Qualcomm

Realme X50 Pro 5G isn’t likely to be the only smartphone to get NavIC in the coming future. 1g1d6y

By Jagmeet Singh | Updated: 2 March 2020 13:57 IST

NavIC Will Be Limited to Devices Powered By Snapdragon 865 and Later SoCs: Qualcomm

Qualcomm is bringing NavIC to the masses through its new Snapdragon SoCs 395q4q

Highlights

Qualcomm announced its partnership with ISRO over NavIC last year
Snapdragon 720G, 662, and 460 were the first SoCs to get NavIC
Qualcomm is enabling NavIC on Snapdragon 865 through software update

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In January, Qualcomm announced that the devices powered by Snapdragon 720G, Snapdragon 662, and Snapdragon 460 system-on-chip (SoC) models will Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) designed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). That was a follow-up of the original announcement highlighting the partnership between Qualcomm and ISRO to bring NavIC to new mobile devices this year. But India's navigation satellite system won't just be ed by the smartphones powered by latest Snapdragon-series SoCs and will reach handsets carrying the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 865 SoC.

A software update is reaching original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in April to enable NavIC on devices powered by the Realme X50 Pro 5G smartphone that is powered by the same Snapdragon 865 SoC. However, the Realme flagship isn't likely to be the only smartphone to get the latest experience.

Qualcomm's Senior Director of Product Marketing Sachin Kalantri told Gadgets 360 that the NavIC technology would work with Snapdragon 865 and later SoC models. The phones need to have radio frequency (RF) for L5 band and the software to communicate with ISRO's satellites for precise navigation, the executive said over a phone call.

“As long as your phone has a chipset which is NavIC capable, has L5 band enabled, and has the software for NavIC, it will work,” Kalantri stated.

While the NavIC at present, though the Chinese brand would bring it after deploying the software update from Qualcomm.

Aside from Realme, some other OEMs bringing new Snapdragon 865-powered devices are likely to include NavIC on their flagships by utilising the update. bring a phone based on Snapdragon 720G SoC that would the navigation system without requiring any additional software updates.

The Indian market also has the iQoo 3 based on the Snapdragon 865 SoC. But iQoo in a recent statement to Gadgets 360 confirmed that its smartphone doesn't NavIC, though it is unclear whether it would be capable of adding through the software update that Qualcomm is seeding to OEMs next month.

Kalantri mentioned that merely by using NavIC-ing Snapdragon SoC doesn't mean that OEMs would be able to offer the new navigation experience on their devices. The manufacturers need to provide the RF for the L5 band, which is unlike the L1 band that works with traditional GPS satellites.

“It's agnostic to the whether Galileo or Beidou or GPS or Glonass is being used,” Kalantri said while pointing out that s won't be able to switch between NavIC and GPS. “All the technologies which are possible from that phone, typically will be used and the does not have a choice in of switching from one to the other or selecting only one because it doesn't make sense.”

NavIC would be independent on the application level and it wouldn't be impacted by any custom ROM or Android version, the executive added.

In of what would be different for end s, Kalantri noted that there would be a quicker and more accurate navigation experience through faster time-to-first-fix (TTFF) position and improved navigation in dense urban areas that have tall buildings. He, however, said that there wouldn't be any changes on the part of battery life on smartphones using NavIC-based navigation.

There would also be no difference on the experience front between the devices powered by Snapdragon 865 and newer SoC models. Nevertheless, the RF components that are being used by manufacturers to enable NavIC could bring some difference at the hardware level.

"While inclusion of NavIC will certainly benefit s having such smartphones, it will not be a key factor tilting smartphone purchase decisions," said Prabhu Ram, Head – Industry Intelligence Group at CMR, in a conversation with Gadgets 360.

Ram added that as per CMR consumer insights, smartphone purchases by Indians are driven predominantly by specifications such as camera, battery, and storage, among others.

ISRO launched NavIC as India's indigenous navigation satellite system as a project back in May 2013. The navigation system currently covers India and a region extending 1,500 kilometres around it and uses the constellation of seven satellites. It works with L5 and S bands, though the former is designed for mass usage, while the latter is limited for military use.

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