Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 and 821 processors may be powering some of the highest-performance Android smartphones of 2016. But the company also has a range of chips for less expensive devices, including the Snapdragon 400 and 600 series processors.
Now Qualcomm is updating those chip families with three new processors aimed at entry-level and mid-range devices.
Snapdragon 653
The highest-performance of the new chips is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 653, which the company says offers up to 10 percent better performance than the existing Snapdragon 652 processor.
It can also handle up to twice as much RAM, with support for up to 8GB of memory.
The octa-core processor has four ARM Cortex-A72 CPU cores and four lower-power Cortex-A53 cores, Adreno 510 graphics, support for hardware-accelerated H.265/HEVC video, and the ability to work with display resolution sup to 2560 x 1600 pixels and cameras with up to 21 megapixel support.
Snapdragon 626
This chip is pin-to-pin compatible with the Snapdragon 625 that it replaces in Qualcomm’s lineup, but it should bring better wireless reception and up to 10 percent better performance
The processor features 8 ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores, Adreno 506 graphics, support for 24MP cameras, and 1920 x 1200 pixel displays.
Snapdragon 427
The follow-up to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 425 chip is aimed at lower-cost device. It supports display resolutions up to 1280 x 800 pixels, cameras up to 16MP, and features four ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores and Adreno 308 graphics.
All three of the new processors support Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging technology, and all three feature X9 LTE modems with download speeds up to 300 Mbps and upload speeds up to 150 Mbps. And in an age when a growing number of smartphone makers are slapping an extra camera on the back of their phones, all three of these new chips also support dual camera setups.
Qualcomm says the new 600 series chips will be available later this fall, while the Snapdragon 427 is coming in early 2017.
The company is also unveiling a new cellular modem called the X50, which the company says is its first “5G” modem, although that’s a wireless standard that’s still in development. Right now Qualcomm is targeting companies doing 5G testing as well as makers of next-gen mobile devices.