Qualcomm has announced three new chip series intended to bring 5G capabilities to mid-range smartphones, as well as one series focused on the continued evolution of LTE.
“Mid-range smartphones are expected to be the main driver for accelerating 5G device adoption – especially in emerging regions,” said Deepu John, senior director of product management at Qualcomm Technologies, in a statement. “These four new additions to our roadmap create significant opportunity for our OEM customers and provides additional options to continue to meet the growing demand for our 5G and 4G mobile platforms.”
The new 5G and 4G mobile platforms are expected to launch sometime this quarter.
Qualcomm said that it is bringing features from its Snapdragon 8-series into its 7-, 6- and 4-series with the new chips. The Snapdragon 778G Plus 5G, 695 5G, 480 Plus 5G, and 680 4G provide increased performance and capabilities across Qualcomm’s high-, mid-, and entry-level tiers, the company said.
Qualcomm added that it is seeing “significant traction and momentum across all Snapdragon tiers.” Chip demand for premium devices drove the Snapdragon 7-series to grow by 44% in the past year alone, Qualcomm said, and after less than a year, it says there are more than 85 devices announced or in development that are based on its Snapdragon 480 (which is aimed at enabling 5G in lower-end devices). In the 6-series, the company said, “Consumer trends are emerging that show mid-tier smartphones will be the main driver for 5G adoption especially in emerging regions.”
Among the capabilities of the new chip series:
-The Snapdragon 778G Plus is a step up from the 778G with boosted GPU and CPU performance, aimed at supporting mobile gaming and “accelerated artificial intelligence” for photo and video experiences.
-The Snapdragon 695 5G mobile platform supports both millimeter wave and sub-6 GHz frequencies, and Qualcomm says that it has up to 30% faster graphics rendering and a 15% CPU performance improvement for use cases like immersive gaming and high-end capture.
-The Snapdragon 480 Plus builds on the company’s 480 series for lower-end smartphones and “will continue to help drive further proliferation of 5G, allowing users access to truly global 5G connectivity and boosted performance to power in-demand productivity and entertainment experiences,” according to Qualcomm.
-The Snapdragon 680 4G mobile platform, meanwhile, is “designed to deliver compelling all-day experiences” like optimized gaming and AI-enhanced low-light capture. “As 5G adoption continues to commercialize around the world, Snapdragon 680 helps address the continued demand for incredible LTE experiences,” the chipmaker said.
In conjunction with Qualcomm’s announcement, a number of device OEMs manufacturers welcomed the news and said that they plan to make use of the new Snapdragon series, including Honor, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Motorola and HMD Global.
“With the integration of these new Snapdragon mobile platforms into our upcoming 5G and 4G device portfolio, we are enabled to unleash incredible mobile experiences from faster connectivity to enhanced gaming and imaging experiences,” said Dan Dery, vice president of products at Motorola Mobility.
“The new Snapdragon 695 5G Mobile Platform takes 5G truly global with mmWave and sub-6 in the 6-series, which will deliver high-speed connection enabled smooth experiences in all scenarios,” said Henry Duan, VP and president of smartphone at Oppo. “We’re excited to launch a device based on the Snapdragon 695 in the coming months and bring even more incredible experiences to consumers.”
