Qualcomm Launches New Low-Range and Mid-Range Snapdragon SoCs


QualcommCortexThis week, Qualcomm announced a slew of new processors for high end smartphones, a couple weeks ahead of the prestigious Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Perhaps the company wants to be ahead of the curve, as it faces a growing competition from companies such as MediaTek, Rockchip, and Allwinner, who offer ARM's Cortex-A-class SoCs for low prices (Extreme Tech). So, here comes Qualcomm with its new Snapdragon series, the 415, 420, 618, and 620, all of which are ready to bring high-end features to our mid-range devices.

QualcommCortex1The Snapdragon 400 and 600-ranged chips happen to be the most exciting anyway. As a refresher, Qualcomm releases its products based on a tier of entry-level 400's, mid-range 600's, and premium device level 800'. Because these mid-range and low-end chips are aimed at the mass market, doesn't mean they can't handle more volume than high-end parts can. In fact, we'll be seeing this new series have significantly higher levels of performance than ever. Now integrated with 64-bit ARM Cortex A-72 CPUs and X8 LTE modems, the 618 and 620 bad boys are ready to bring some processing protein to our smartphones. Not to mention, the 415 and 420 are officially moving to octa-core Cortex A53-based designs, saying goodbye to quad-core (Slash Gear).

QualcommCortex2This transition towards ARM's upcoming top-end CPUs is good news for Qualcomm, good news for consumers, and good news for devices (it means new devices in the $600 or less range will be packed). Additionally, when the company is ready to launch next-gen technology for its Snapdragon 800 chips, they will surely be powerful enough to differentiate (Extreme Tech). Ars Technica reports that the Snapdragon 415 is sampling to partners now. The Snapdragon 425, and both Snapdragon 618 and 620 will start sampling in devices by the end of this year.

Topics: Technology News Gadgets & Peripherals Smartphones & Mobile Devices

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