Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon 630 and 660 processors
Qualcomm has announced a couple of new mid-range processors. The Snapdragon 630 is the successor to the very popular Snapdragon 625, which we have praised in devices like the Moto G5 Plus. The Snapdragon 660 is a revamped version of the Snapdragon 650.
The 630 keeps most of what we loved about the 625. It’s octa-core with 4 high-speed and 4 low-speed cores. Qualcomm says they are 30% faster than the 625. The graphics chip has been updated to the Adreno 508. LTE speeds up to 600MHz are now supported, as well as Bluetooth 5.0, Quick Charge 4, and USB 3.1.
The 660 is a bigger update. Qualcomm switched from 28nm to 14nm process, which results in much better battery life. The 660 also has the same Kyro cluster as the Snapdragon 820. It’s also an octa-core processor with 30% speed improvement. The 660 has the same LTE and connection updates as the 630, but also big camera improvements.
These processors are arguably more important than the high-end chips in phones like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6. The 630 and 660 will power a plethora of affordable devices around the globe. You can expect to see the 630 in devices around the $300 range and the 660 in devices around the $500 range.