Qualcomm may be battling against Meizu right now in different countries but that’s nothing compared to the good news we just heard. The top chipset manufacturer has recently announced a new range of mid-range processors plus a 5G modem and gigabit LTE. For mobile industry watchers like us, these are cool new developments that are expected to become game-changers in the next few months and years.
The mid-range SoCs will definitely mean faster performance of budget-friendly to mid-range devices. They will probably be even more affordable and worth it now because for such a low price, phone will be better and perform faster.
While the premium category is waiting for the Snapdragon 821, the mid-range has the 653, 626, and 427 processors. These are obvious follow-ups to the the 652, 625, and 425 unveiled last year.
What’s impressive about the new mid-range processors is the fact that they now support a number of functions and features like the LTE Cat 7 downlink and Cat 13 uplink through the X9 LTE modem. They can also support dual camera technology, thanks to the Clear Sight feature. This tech is presently found in premium devices only but the new SoCs will soon be able deliver the feature to future mid-range units.
Here’s rundown of some enhancements:
• Snapdragon 653. Snapdragon X9 LTE, CAT 7 LTE Modem, up to 10% higher performance, supports dual camera, 8GB 2X memory
• Snapdragon 626. Snapdragon X9 LTE, CAT 7 LTE Modem, up to 10% higher performance, supports dual camera, Qualcomm TruSign Antenna boost
• Snapdragon 427. Snapdragon X9 LTE, CAT 7 LTE Modem, supports integrated DSP, supports dual camera, Qualcomm TruSign Antenna boost
When it comes to connectivity, Qualcomm wants to improve and make things faster wth the X16 LTE modem. The company said the modem is capable of 1Gbps download speed over LTE. That’s already fast enough for mobile connection. Expect these mobile processors to be available before 2016 ends except for the Snapdragon 427 as it is due for a 2017 launch. This one is more for the low-end market.
In the near future, we will be able to reach 5G speed but it may take some time. Qualcomm already has the Snapdragon X50 modem for that but it’s not yet completely ready for wider use. The 5G connectivity is still being tested by many different industry leaders. Qualcomm is joining the trend and it wants to be a forerunner with the X50 modem even if 5G isn’t expected to be commercially available until year 2018. We’re guessing this one will be ready by next year, offering up to 5 gigabits per second.
All these new products were announced at this week’s 4G/5G summit in Hong Kong. We’re hoping that these new chipsets and modems will be ready even way ahead of schedule so more OEMs will be able to test them out. Not much details on other capabilities but all three processors will support Quick Charge 3.0 technology.
VIA: XDA
