Qualcomm has rocked up at MWC 2026 with an “AI-ready” connectivity bundle.
The firm’s line is that tiny tweaks will not cut it, so it is rolling out Wi-Fi 8 parts, led by the FastConnect 8800, and a fresh set of Dragonwing Wi-Fi 8 platforms.
FastConnect 8800 is billed as the first mobile connectivity system with a 4×4 Wi-Fi radio, capable of peak speeds up to 11.6Gbps. Qualcomm claims it is twice as fast as the previous FastConnect generation and can extend gigabit range by up to three times, which is the bit that matters when you are two rooms away from the router.
The chip integrates Wi-Fi 8, Bluetooth 7, ultra-wideband, and Thread 1.5 into a single 6nm solution, pushing for tighter integration and greater efficiency. Bluetooth gets a boost with what Qualcomm calls High Data Throughput, raising speeds from 2Mbps to 7.5Mbps, which should mean less audio grief, quicker file transfers, and fewer hiccups when you are juggling devices.
Qualcomm is pushing “Proximity AI” too, bundling Wi-Fi ranging, Bluetooth channel sounding, UWB and GPS to track nearby kit with centimetre-level accuracy. That is the sort of thing that makes lost earbuds and smart tags less of a daily wind-up, assuming the software does not get in its own way.
On the router side, Qualcomm’s Dragonwing NPro A8 Elite claims up to 40 per cent more throughput, 2.5 times lower latency at peak usage, and up to 30 per cent lower daily power consumption. If those numbers hold up in the real world, high-end phones, laptops and XR headsets will stop feeling like they have hit a brick wall the moment the cloud gets involved.
