Galaxy S21 With Snapdragon 888 Could Be the First to Get Qualcomm’s Smaller, Narrower mmWave Module, Saving Space

During Samsung’s announcement of the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the company didn’t care to showcase how it partnered with Qualcomm not just for its Snapdragon 888 but for its smaller mmWave antenna modules. A recent teardown of the flagship showed that the innards are almost identical to those present in the Galaxy S20, but with a small change.

Qualcomm Earlier Mentioned in 2020 That Its Next-Gen mmWave Antenna Modules Are Smaller, Allowing Phone Makers to Conserve Ample Space

The first teardown of the flagship showed what appeared to be Qualcomm’s third-generation QTM535 mmWave antenna modules. Apparently, there are two of them, as you can see in the image below. Since they are compact in size, Samsung has room to place different components inside. Also, there are two mmWave antenna modules, most likely to improve mmWave 5G performance and signal reliability.

If you don’t know, mmWave 5G doesn’t sport the same range as the sub-6GHz standard, and though it’s speedy, performance can immediately take a nosedive if there are signal issues. During Qualcomm’s announcement back in February 2020, when it announced its third-generation QTM535 mmWave antenna modules, it mentioned that the new modules take up less space, allowing manufacturing companies to release thinner devices. The QTM535 is also compatible with global bands.

The Snapdragon 888 based Galaxy S21 could be on of the first phones making use of Qualcomm's narrower QTM535 mmWave antenna module. Source (image flipped): https://t.co/jQQuohZuor pic.twitter.com/yIfTRiuFDb

— Nicolas La Rocco (@roccetry) January 18, 2021

We appreciate that these mmWave modules can easily be detached from the Galaxy S21’s logic board. Unlike some components that are glued in place using adhesive, Samsung has taken a different approach. Assuming one of the components gives up, they can easily be taken apart and transported for appropriate servicing. However, we wouldn’t recommend removing these parts yourself, as a previous report shows that Samsung is locking down third-party repairs.

Assuming you perform the replacement procedure yourself, it could cause cellular connectivity and performance to behave haphazardly. These mmWave antenna modules may end up in the iPhone 13 lineup, too, so let us keep our fingers crossed and see how many other flagships these pop up in.

News Source: PBKreviews