Qualcomm introduces the Snapdragon 625, 435, 425 processors and Snapdragon X16 Modem
The world’s biggest mobile chipmaker, Qualcomm, has announced three new mobile SoC targeting the mid-range and entry-level smartphones ahead of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) expo. These include three snapdragon processors – the Snapdragon 625, Snapdragon 435, and Snapdragon 425.
The Snapdragon 625, 435, and 425. Touted as “next-generation” chips, Qualcomm, the biggest maker of processors and modem chips for mobile phones, says they are “designed to deliver some of the latest premium-tier user experiences, using custom-developed technology including camera, video, gaming and connectivity, to the broader smartphone ecosystem.”
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
The new Snapdragon 625 is the first in its class of Snapdragon processors to be built on a power-efficient 14nm process. This allows its eight Cortex-A53 cores to be clocked at over 2GHz. It’s paired with an X9 modem for Cat. 7 LTE – up to 300Mbps downloads and 150Mbps uploads.
The new Snapdragon 625 will be able to shoot 4K video (with both AVC and HEVC codecs), and have two high-resolution cameras that can shoot 24-megapixel photos.
The new Snapdragon 625 features 35% less power consumption than the Snapdragon 617, meaning that battery life will greatly improve. Other highlights include improved image quality and GPU performance. The new Snapdragon 625 include an Adreno 506 GPU and Quick Charge 3.0.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 435
The new Snapdragon 435 has an X8 LTE modem (Cat. 7 for 300Mbps down, 100Mbps up) and multimedia and visual features, supporting 1080p high-definition video at 60 frames per second. The new Snapdragon 435 has image sensor processors that support 21-megapixel graphics and PC-class graphics with the Adreno 505 graphics core. The new Snapdragon 435 is built on the old 28nm process, so its eight Cortex-A53 cores top out at 1.4GHz. The new Snapdragon 435 is the first 400-series chipset with Cat. 7 LTE.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 425
The Snapdragon 425 chipset has a quad-core processor, Cortex-A53 up to 1.4GHz (28nm build), and an old Adreno 308. The Snapdragon 425 includes an integrated X6 LTE modem with 2×10 MHz carrier aggregation and upload speeds up to 75 Mbps with 64-QAM to allow for cost-effective smartphones designed with high-speed LTE connectivity for China and emerging regions. It also offers dual ISP support, allowing for camera resolutions up to 16-megapixels. Display support is capped at 1,280 x 800 at 60 frames-per-second.
The new Qualcomm Snapdragon X16 Modem
The most important product launched is the new Snapdragon X16 Modem, which is the first mobile LTE modem to support 1Gbps (that’s 1,000Mbps) download speeds.
It’s also the first modem to be built on a 14nm process (the X12 is at 20nm). The modem also supports the latest LTE features, including 4×4 carrier aggregation, aggregation with the unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U and LAA), and 256-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) signaling.
Cristiano Amon, executive vice president at Qualcomm Technologies, said, “Not only does the Snapdragon X16 blur the lines between wired and wireless broadband, but marks an important step toward 5G as we enable deeper unlicensed spectrum integration with LTE and more advanced MIMO techniques to support growing data consumption and deliver an even faster and smoother user experience.”
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