The biggest problem most people face with 5G today is inconsistency: fast in some places, slow or battery-hungry in others. As networks evolve into 5G’s next wave—often called 5G-Advanced—the gap between what networks can deliver and what devices can handle is widening. That is where chipset design and performance come into focus. In the pages ahead, we explain how 5G’s next wave changes chipset design and performance, why it matters for your phone, laptop, car, or IoT device, and what will separate the best devices from the rest in the next 24 months.
What makes the next wave of 5G different—and why it pressures chipsets
Early 5G rollouts focused on speed. The next wave is about breadth and reliability: more bands, smarter scheduling, better uplink, power savings, and support for new device classes. Standards bodies call this evolution 5G-Advanced, centered on 3GPP Release 18 and beyond. The implications for chipsets are significant. Each new capability adds silicon complexity, RF challenges, and firmware sophistication—all while consumers still expect longer battery life and cooler devices.
Three shifts stand out. First, spectrum diversity is exploding. Devices must handle sub-6 GHz, mid-band refarming, and in some regions, millimeter wave. Wider carrier aggregation, higher-order MIMO, and dynamic spectrum sharing make RF front-ends far more complex, with more filters, switches, and power amplifiers packed into tiny spaces. Second, new device types are coming online. Reduced Capability (RedCap) devices—like wearables, sensors, and industrial controllers—run leaner radios and simpler antenna arrays but demand robust coverage and better power profiles. Third, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) bring satellite links to phones and IoT, requiring new waveform resilience, timing, and antenna strategies.
Market momentum also matters. Industry trackers indicate that 5G subscriptions surpassed the 1.5 billion mark globally by late 2023, with strong growth expected through the decade. As adoption rises, operators light up more bands and features, which pushes device makers to ship modems and RF chains that are flexible by design. For chip architects, this means more digital signal processing, smarter beam management, and agile power control—implemented on advanced process nodes and increasingly with heterogeneous packaging.
At a practical level, the next wave raises a blunt question for every device builder: can your silicon do more across more bands, with tighter power budgets and lower heat, while delivering consistent real-world performance? The answer depends on choices in RF front-end design, baseband architecture, AI-assisted firmware, and system-level power management.
| 3GPP Release | Key additions | Implications for chipsets |
|---|---|---|
| Release 17 | RedCap, NTN support, positioning enhancements | Simpler UE profiles for IoT; satellite-capable PHY/MAC; new GNSS and timing features |
| Release 18 (5G-Advanced) | AI for RAN, XR optimizations, uplink boosts, power-saving refinements | Heavier DSP/AI blocks, smarter scheduling, tighter modem-application coordination |
Learn more about the standard roadmap from 3GPP’s 5G-Advanced overview and work plan at https://www.3gpp.org and GSMA’s briefs at https://www.gsma.com.
The RF front-end revolution: from antenna to modem
Most 5G complexity shows up first in the RF front-end (RFFE). A modern device may support dozens of bands, multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) configurations, and carrier aggregation across licensed and shared spectrum. For sub-6 GHz, this means banks of acoustic filters (SAW/BAW), high-linearity power amplifiers, switches with low insertion loss, and tunable matching networks. Every component adds loss, heat, and size pressure. Efficient integration and careful layout are the difference between a signal that flies and one that fizzles at the antenna.
Millimeter wave raises the stakes. Phased-array antenna modules steer beams to maintain links with small, high-frequency cells. These modules combine antenna elements, power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, and phase shifters in compact packages—often near the device edges for line-of-sight. Beam training and tracking add computational load to the modem, while the RF chain must balance gain, efficiency, and thermal safety. Even if your market relies more on mid-band, mmWave know-how increasingly informs how vendors design for high spectral efficiency and dense urban deployments.
Envelope tracking is now a must-have for efficiency, modulating the power supply to RF power amplifiers in sync with the signal envelope. It reduces wasted power when transmitting complex 5G waveforms. Advanced versions track faster envelopes across wider bandwidths, which helps sustain throughput without a heat penalty. Similarly, diversity receive chains and smarter antenna switching improve real-world performance in weak coverage areas, which many users still experience indoors or at cell edges.
On the baseband side, modern modems integrate more sophisticated channel estimation, interference cancellation, and beam management algorithms. As operators push features like uplink carrier aggregation and higher-order modulation, the computational load increases. Vendors respond with dedicated DSPs and accelerators, tightly coupled to RF controls for real-time adaptation. In that tight loop, next-wave devices will win—by turning raw radio complexity into a consistent user experience.
For a deeper look at RF trends and mmWave, see technical briefs from ETSI at https://www.etsi.org and device vendor whitepapers such as Qualcomm’s modem-RF portfolio pages at https://www.qualcomm.com and MediaTek’s 5G resources at https://www.mediatek.com.
Power, performance, and area: the new efficiency playbook
Every new 5G feature costs energy. The efficiency game is to deliver more bits per joule without thermal throttling. Well, here it is: the work starts at the transistor level. Leading-edge process nodes (such as 3 nm class) offer meaningful power reductions at a given performance point compared with prior nodes. Double-digit power savings are reported by foundries for well-optimized designs, and chipmakers can trade them between longer battery life and higher sustained throughput. Advanced packaging—fan-out, 2.5D interposers, or 3D stacking—shortens interconnects and improves bandwidth per watt, though it adds design and thermal complexity.
Architecture choices matter even more. Heterogeneous compute combines CPU clusters, GPU, DSP, and dedicated modem and AI accelerators. Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS), power gating, and island-based clocking let the system wake only what is needed. For 5G specifically, modem firmware now actively cooperates with the application processor to schedule downloads, apply bandwidth caps in the background, and prefetch when radio conditions are good. What’s interesting too: the “network-aware compute” model is becoming standard in premium devices.
On the network side, features such as DRX (discontinuous reception), refined RRC Inactive states, and smarter paging reduce how often the radio has to fully wake. For RedCap and IoT, long sleep cycles and simplified bandwidth profiles can deliver dramatic battery gains while still meeting latency targets for sensors or wearables. The challenge for chipset designers is to implement these features with minimal overhead, so that control logic does not eat into power savings.
Thermals are the hard ceiling. Even small inefficiencies compound under sustained 5G loads like video upload, cloud gaming, or tethering. That is why vendors are investing in predictive thermal management, using on-die sensors and machine learning to anticipate heat buildup and adapt link parameters before throttling triggers. For device makers, mechanical design (vapor chambers, graphite sheets) must match the silicon’s capabilities. When done well, the user sees smoother performance, fewer hotspots, and better battery life—even as networks add features. For a concise snapshot of power-saving techniques in standards, check 3GPP technical reports linked from https://www.3gpp.org and GSMA’s efficiency briefs at https://www.gsma.com.
5G meets AI: smarter modems, edge compute, and new experiences
The most important quiet change in next-wave 5G is how much intelligence has moved into the modem and system firmware. AI is now used to predict channel conditions, pick beams faster, manage handovers, and decide when to aggregate carriers. Instead of brute-force scanning, the modem learns from history and context, saving power and seconds. 3GPP Release 18 recognizes this shift with study items around AI for RAN and device-side optimizations, signaling a future where inference is part of the radio stack.
On-device NPUs (neural processing units) complement the modem. They offload media and vision tasks while the modem coordinates with applications to smooth data bursts. Then this co-design benefits emerging experiences: extended reality (XR), live commerce, multiplayer gaming, and telemedicine depend on low jitter as much as low latency. By aligning inference windows and network bursts, devices reduce radio wake-ups and avoid thermal spikes. The result feels snappier and more stable, not just faster in a speed test.
Enterprise and automotive use cases underscore the trend. Private 5G for factories needs time-sensitive networking and dependable uplink for machine vision. Vehicles need high-integrity links for maps, telemetry, and software updates. Chipsets evolve accordingly: integrated positioning engines for sub-meter accuracy, hardware security blocks for inline encryption at high rates, and deterministic scheduling knobs that IT admins can control. Satellite assist (NTN) helps in rural coverage or emergency messaging, adding resilience when terrestrial cells are out of reach.
Real products are already pointing the way. Modem-RF platforms branded “5G-Advanced ready” bundle smarter beamforming, better uplink, and power-optimized carrier aggregation. You can see vendor examples at https://www.qualcomm.com/products/mobile/modems and https://www.mediatek.com/products/connectivity/5g. The direction is clear: radios are becoming software-defined systems guided by AI, wrapped in efficient silicon, and tuned for real-world experience, not just peak laboratory speeds. For developers and device buyers, it means looking beyond headline throughput to metrics like sustained performance, coverage consistency, and energy per bit.
Q&A: common questions
Q: What is 5G-Advanced in simple terms?
A: It is the next phase of 5G, centered on 3GPP Release 18 and beyond. It improves reliability, uplink, power efficiency, and adds smarter features for AI, XR, IoT, and satellite support. Think “more consistent 5G,” not just “faster 5G.” See 3GPP’s overview at https://www.3gpp.org.
Q: Will millimeter wave finally matter for everyday users?
A: It depends on your region. In dense cities, venues, and fixed wireless access, mmWave is valuable. Even where mmWave is limited, its design lessons—efficient beamforming, better RF integration—are improving sub-6 GHz performance too.
Q: How does the next wave affect battery life?
A: New features can increase power draw, but smarter chipsets and firmware offset this with AI-assisted radio management, better DRX, and more efficient process nodes. The best devices will feel faster and last longer in mixed real-world use.
Q: Should I wait to buy a device that supports Release 18?
A: If you upgrade infrequently, a “5G-Advanced ready” device can be a good hedge. If you upgrade annually, focus on sustained performance, coverage in your area, and thermal behavior during uploads or tethering—those factors impact daily experience more than a single spec line.
Q: What about satellite messaging on phones?
A: Non-terrestrial network support is maturing for basic messaging and IoT. It improves resilience when terrestrial 5G is unavailable, but bandwidth is limited. Expect gradual expansion in coverage and capabilities over the next few years.
Conclusion: what to do next
Here is the bottom line. The next wave of 5G expands from raw speed to reliable, everywhere connectivity. That shift is reshaping chipset design and performance in four ways: more complex RF front-ends, deeper AI in the modem and system firmware, aggressive power-thermal strategies across 3 nm-class nodes and advanced packaging, and broader support for new device types including RedCap and satellite-assisted links. The practical result should be devices that feel faster and more dependable in real-world conditions—not just in speed tests.
If you are a device maker, your next steps are clear. Co-design the RF and baseband with power as a first-class metric, not an afterthought. Validate sustained performance in realistic scenarios: weak indoor coverage, uplink-heavy workloads, and long DRX cycles. Invest in telemetry so AI can guide radio decisions instead of guessing. If you are an enterprise buyer, demand transparency on features like uplink carrier aggregation, positioning accuracy, and power-saving modes, and test on the networks your staff actually use. If you are a consumer, look for devices marketed as “5G-Advanced ready,” but also check reviews that measure battery life and sustained performance in your city.
Momentum is building. Standards bodies are aligning around AI-assisted radios and better power efficiency. Vendors are shipping modems that handle more bands, smarter beams, and tougher thermal envelopes. Networks are lighting up features that turn 5G into an everyday utility. You can help push the market by choosing products that prioritize consistent experience over peak numbers, and by updating firmware when vendors add new radio capabilities.
Act now: audit your connectivity needs, map the bands your carrier uses, and shortlist devices with proven sustained performance, not just impressive lab speeds. The next generation of wireless will reward those who design—and buy—for balance. The future of connectivity is not only faster; it is smarter, cooler, and more reliable. What will you build, deploy, or buy to make that future real today?
Sources and further reading:
— 3GPP 5G-Advanced overview and Release 18 work plan: https://www.3gpp.org
— GSMA 5G-Advanced briefs: https://www.gsma.com
— Ericsson Mobility Report 2024: https://www.ericsson.com/en/reports-and-papers/mobility-report
— ETSI 5G and NTN technical resources: https://www.etsi.org
— Qualcomm modem-RF platforms: https://www.qualcomm.com/products/mobile/modems
— MediaTek 5G resources and whitepapers: https://www.mediatek.com/products/connectivity/5g
— TSMC process technology overview (N3/N5): https://www.tsmc.com