Qualcomm today announced three new Snapdragon chips for mid-range 4G phones. The new chips offer boosted performance compared to the chips they replace. Qualcomm is also bringing its Hexagon AI and low-power Sensing Hub technologies down to 4-series chips for more affordable phones for the first time. All of the new SoCs also include Wi-Fi 6 and dual-band GPS.
“Demand for high performance chipsets that support intensive usage and gaming is continuously increasing. Moreover, consumers are increasingly demanding seamless connectivity solutions,” said Manu Jain, global vice president, Xiaomi and managing director, Xiaomi India. He further added, “We have worked closely with Qualcomm Technologies to ensure that the Snapdragon 720G Mobile Platform enables our customers to unlock this potential and experience high-performance seamlessly at faster speeds. I am happy to share that we will be one of the first brands globally to launch a smartphone based on the new Snapdragon 720G. This is another step forward in our long-standing collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, that allows us to deliver best-in-class technologies to our Mi Fans.”
The New SoCs:
- Snapdragon 720G: A new 7-series chip for gaming phones, made using an efficient 8nm process. It supports HDR game play, 192-megapixel cameras, and Quick Charge 4+. It includes a Snapdragon X15 LTE modem supporting download speeds up to 800 Mbps. It also includes a Hexagon Tensor Accelerator for advanced on-device AI. Devices with the 720G are expected to ship this quarter.
- Snapdragon 662: This mid-range chip brings new camera and AI features to the 6 series for the first time. It has built-in support for 48-megapixel photo capture, smooth zooming between three cameras, and HEIF capture. Its Hexagon 683 AI processor supports Hexagon Vector eXtensions and hardware-accelerated TensorFlow Lite. It also supports Cat. 11 LTE and Quick Charge 3.0. Phones using the 662 are expected by the end of 2020.
- Snapdragon 460: The 460 is up to twice as fast as last year’s Snapdragon 450 in “overall system performance”. The Kryo 240 CPU contains the first “performance” CPU cores in the 4 series, offering 70% better CPU performance. The Adreno 610 GPU offers 60% better graphics performance. It includes the same Hexagon 683 processor as the Snapdragon 662, bringing AI features to the 4 series for the first time. The Spectra 340 ISP supports advanced photography features and triple cameras. It also supports Cat. 11 LTE and Quick Charge 3.0. Phones using the 460 are expected by the end of 2020.
