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Qualcomm today announced that they have developed four new chipsets. Two will head to the Snapdragon 400 family, while the other 2 will find their places with the Snapdragon 600 series.
For starters the Snapdragon 425 and Snapdragon 415 are both octa-core configurations, marking the first time that a chipset from the entry-level line would get such a kit. Both feature 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 architecture, but the Snapdragon 425 gets a slightly higher clock speed at 1.7GHz as opposed to the Snapdragon 415’s 1.4GHz.
Something else the Snapdragon 425 has over the 415 is Qualcomm’s new integrated X8 LTE modem. It supports Cat 7 speeds of up to 300 megabits down and 100 megabits up, and also features 2x20MHz carrier aggregation on both uplink and downlink.
What does this mean? It means the chip can automatically determine which network is the best at any given time and seamlessly move you to the best one to ensure you get the best performance you can. It’s even possible to combine two signals at once to ensure maximum bandwidth. The Snapdragon 415’s X5 LTE modem doesn’t have that functionality, but you will get at least Cat 4 LTE speeds of up to 150 megabits down.
Moving on, the Snapdragon 618 and 620 are a bit beefier and should have ample performance for a mid-range device in 2015. Both feature four cores of ARM’s Cortex-A72 clocked at 1.8GHz, and another four cores of Cortex-A53 at 1.2GHz. Both feature the aforementioned X8 LTE chip with carrier aggregation and a “next-generation Adreno GPU” that Qualcomm oddly doesn’t wish to name at this time.
Both those chipsets move the Snapdragon 600 series closer to the top-line 800 series thanks to support for dual ISP camera, 4K video capture and playback, HEVC hardware encoding, and Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 technology as standard.
So you’re probably wondering when to expect these bad boys. The Snapdragon 415 will be out first with devices expected to appear in the first half of 2015. The other three are all destined for the second half of the year, so it’s likely we’ll see the usual summer and holiday push for mid-range dominance ramp up with these in tow.
It’s no Snapdragon 800-worthy lineup, but all these chipsets should make for a horde of affordable devices that don’t have to be subject to the usual downsides associated with lower price points.
Solid lineup!
Qualcomm always impressive…
They just don’t impress Samsung apparently.
X8 LTE modem! Interesting cause how they described this chip working to determine the best signal and using 2 to create the best connection, sounds like Googles plan with their wireless network using sprint and T mobile.
great catch, read right over that!
So can we finally admit that the iPhone is a midranger if a lot of these Android devices have 64 bit processors w/ higher speeds and functionality?
sure, if you base everything on clock speed and not actual performance.
But using an iPhone feels underwhelming. It cannot do as much as a Moto G.
the OS limitations might be underwhelming, but the phone itself is rock solid. High end camera, great performance. great screen, good battery life. There’s nothing mid range about it’s performance.
It’s just whether or not the phone is too simplistic for your needs.
The camera performance is very arguable, the screen is 740p, which is less than most mid range phones nowadays, battery life even worse than the LG G3, which battery life is bad. The Nexus 5 is the only high end phone with a worse battery life than the iPhone 6.
you can say camera is arguable but every year iphone cameras are at the top along with samsung and sony. Yea the screen is 720p, and i have a g3 and i wish my screen was 720 lol. I cannot find 2k content anywhere outside of random wallpapers. And most stuff i download is in 720 because the file size is smaller and its quicker to download and takes up less space on my phone.
Yeah Battery life is better than g3 and maybe nexus 6 im not sure… but g3 has solid battery life, it just isnt exceptional or great.
If its performance falls inline with other android flagships, how is it not a highend phone?
I used the 5S for about a week. It felt like the battery sucked. The only things that worked well were the camera and TouchID.
What type of phone doesn’t even have predictive dialing as well?
lol yeah im not saying i would buy one, im just saying the hardware performs at a high level. Software is where my issues lie. That and i dont like the home button.
The iPhone has been and always will be perceived as high-end no matter what it’s actual performance or specs are. Just because it’s perceived as one of the best/is impressive in some regards doesn’t make it the best for everyone, though.
No, we can’t. Here’s a reality check:
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Apple-iPhone-6-Apple-A8-performance-review-CPU-and-GPU-compared-to-the-best-Android-phones-out-there_id60932/page/2
Just give it a rest with the Apple bashing. If you like Android, awesome. If you like iOS, good for you. But at least operate on facts instead of some nonsense you just invented.
The next low end phones are gonna be awesome
If they release a 3rd generation Moto X I might jump on that.
You mean the moto g? The moto x is a flagship.
That awesome moment when low-end phones are as good as high-end phones two years ago.