This week Qualcomm unveiled a new generation of low and mid-range System on Chips in their Snapdragon range as well as a new super-fast gigabit LTE modem.
The Snapdragon 435 and 625 are their new Octa-Core SoC’s while the Snapdragon 425 is their new entry level Quad-Core SoC, updating from the Snapdragon 410/412. All three SoC’s use the ARM Cortex-A53 CPU with the Snapdragon 625 showing its higher end value with the new 14nm FinFET manufacturing process offering up to a 35 percent reduction in power consumption.
The complete technical specs of each SoC includes:
- Snapdragon 625: In addition to a dramatic increase in performance, the Snapdragon 625 is the first in its class of Snapdragon processors to use 14 nm FinFET technology, yielding up to a 35 percent reduction in power consumption compared to the previous generation. It incorporates an octa-core ARM® Cortex®-A53 CPU and includes an integrated X9 LTE modem, supporting 4G+. With peak upload speeds of 150 Mbps – 3x as fast as traditional LTE devices – the X9 LTE modem supports faster sharing of the superior videos and photos made possible by the Snapdragon 625 processor’s cutting-edge, premium-tier camera capabilities. These include superior 4K high-efficiency video coding recording and playback, even in low light conditions. It also supports dual high-resolution cameras, 24 megapixel photos, and up to 13 megapixel selfies, supporting higher-quality, low light snapshots and advanced post-processing features such as re-focus, advanced editing and special effects. Finally, the 625 supports PC-class graphics with the Qualcomm® Adreno™ 506 graphics processing unit (GPU), which is designed to support the Vulkan™ API*.
- Snapdragon 435: The new Snapdragon 435 integrates an octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU and is the first in its class to integrate the X8 LTE modem, supporting 4G+, with 2×20 MHz carrier aggregation for faster downlink (up to 300 Mbps) and uplink (up to 100 Mbps) LTE speeds. It supports a smooth 1080p user interface with 60 frames per-second, dual ISPs enabling 21 megapixel photos and advanced features like hybrid autofocus and is a leader in image quality in this tier. It also includes the Adreno 505 GPU for PC-class graphics.
- Snapdragon 425: The Snapdragon 425 ups the entry point for the 400 tier and provides a solid upgrade path for the Snapdragon 410 and 412 customers with a 64-bit, quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU, an Adreno 308 GPU, and HD display at 60 frames per-second. The dual ISPs enabling 16 megapixel photos support an improved camera and video experience. Several premium computer vision features are supported for the first time in this Snapdragon tier enabling advanced visual experiences. The 425 also 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.
The X16 is the model of their new LTE modem, supporting LTE Cat 16 with download speeds up to 1GBps, dependent of course on how fast your carrier can supply the data. The X16 LTE supports up to 4×20 MHz downlink Carrier Aggregation (CA) across FDD and TDD spectrum.
Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon 425/435 and 625 SoC’s will be sampling mid-year, with devices using them appearing in the second half of this year, about the same time as devices featuring the X16 modem will appear.
