Qualcomm unveils new chips for smart home gadgets

Qualcomm’s Q4 report from last week showed that the company raked in $1.7 billion in revenues from its Internet of Things (IoT) products. That’s double what it is currently making from automotive. So, you probably won’t hear much about these chips, but there is a good chance that you will encounter them in one form or another.

The QCC74xM is Qualcomm’s first programmable connectivity module based on RISC-V. This is an instruction set that offers an alternative to ARM, which might come in handy, given the recent ARM vs. Qualcomm spat.

This module has advanced connectivity features with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3, as well as Thread and Zigbee. This makes it suitable for smart home hubs and other smart home appliances that need the extra features. It can also be wired in and communicate over Ethernet and CAN (typically found in vehicles).

The other chip, QCC730M, is a micro-power Wi-Fi 4 module. This is intended to be used in battery-powered devices – think Wi-Fi security cameras or smart locks. It has a 60MHz CPU with 640KB RAM, plus hardware acceleration for cryptographic security algorithms.

Both chips are available as samples, so product developers can start prototyping today. Commercial availability for both is set for the first half of 2025.

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