US-based chipmaker Qualcomm has announced four new additions to its dragon picture 7, 6 and 4 series. Two of the newly announced chipsets are new chipsets and the remaining two are plus versions of the existing chips. The new chipsets are – Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ 5G, 695 5G, 480+ 5G and 680 4G. The focus is mostly on 5G connectivity, though there is a new option only for 4G needs and three of the four chips have 6nm nodes.
Qualcomm predicts that upcoming mid-range smartphones, in particular, may benefit from this upgrade and that its new processors will help accelerate 5G phone adoption, especially in emerging regions.
Snapdragon 778G+ 5G
The original Snapdragon 778G is based on a 6 nm process, although it has been refined to allow for higher clock speeds. The Kryo 670 prime core now clocks at 2.5 GHz (up from 2.4 GHz). Additionally, the Adreno 642L GPU has also been boosted, promising 20% higher performance. The rest is the same as before, which means an X53 5G modem for 3.7Gbps downlink and 1.6Gbps uplink, a triple IPS (Spectra 570L) and so on.
Snapdragon 695 5G
It is a follow-up to the Snapdragon 690 with mmWave 5G support (which the 690 doesn’t have). This will make the new chip popular with carriers that are promoting their mmWave networks, but there are some performance upgrades as well.
The Snapdragon 695 improves CPU performance by up to 15% and GPU performance by up to 30%. That’s because it moves up to the new CPU cores Kryo 660 (vs 560 for the older chip) and Adreno 619 (vs 619L).
Another major part of the upgrade is the node – it’s a 6nm chip, replacing the older 8nm chip, which should be good for energy efficiency.
Snapdragon 680 4G
The Snapdragon 680 has a 4G LTE modem, so it will be used in basic mid-rangers. The whole thing is a mix of old and new features on the same 6nm node as its sibling, but it uses Kryo 265 CPU cores, which are probably upgraded versions of the Kryo 260 cores that were recently released on the Snapdragon 662 (an 11nm chip). ) have been used. It also has the same Adreno 610 GPU.
The cameras will be completed by a triple ISP, a Spectra 346. Triple ISPs are very rare outside of high-end designs, they allow the chipset to process image data from up to three cameras simultaneously.
Snapdragon 480+ 5G
The original Snapdragon 480 was Qualcomm’s first 400-series chipset with a 5G modem, making it a common sight on more affordable 5G phones. The Snapdragon 480+ is still an 8nm chip with the relatively old Kryo 460 CPU cores and an Adreno 619 GPU. Although the Prime CPU now runs at 2.2 GHz (up from 2.0 GHz), the GPU has also been boosted.
The chip can support a 1080p+ display at up to 120Hz, while the Snapdragon 680 can only drive it at 90Hz. For connectivity – at 480+ the X51 modem supports both sub-6 and mmWave 5G networks.
The Snapdragon 680 is probably expected to be more power efficient, while the 480+ is expected to offer more speed. HMD Global, the current home of Nokia phones, is interested in the Snapdragon 480+ (it’s already used the original 480 in several models). It looks like Oppo is eyeing the Snapdragon 695 for that extra mmWave support. Xiaomi has shown interest in 695 and Snapdragon 778G+. New phones with these chips can also be expected from Motorola, Vivo and Honor.
It is not yet clear when to expect the first device with the new chipset. The Plus models have essentially the same hardware, so they should be out the door before a brand new design.
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