Today, pretty much every smartphone released nowadays could fulfill everyone’s general tasks. We’re now at the point where specs in smartphones no longer matter unless you’re really keen into the subject.
Today’s smartphones perform a variety of tasks, from texting to accessing the internet and everything in between. The ease of accessing our data, out entertainment and the world within our pocket has finally solidified the industry. These devices are often very personal to many users. With the gaps between the high-end and mid-range devices shrinking, it seems like SoC manufacturers like Qualcomm are simply trying to psuh the mid-range bar even higher.
With Chinese OEMs arriving first in-line for Pizza, these brands often market themselves for their excellent performance. With the latest Snapdragon 670 becoming official, it’s likely that we could be seeing this SoC in our smartphones very soon.
| Snapdragon 632 | Snapdragon 636 | Snapdragon 670 | Snapdragon 439 | Snapdragon 429 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clock Speed | 8 x Kyro 250 Upto 1.8Ghz | 8 x Kyro 250 Upto 1.8Ghz | 8x Qualcomm® Kryo™ 360 CPU Upto 2GHz | 12nm 8x ARM Cortex A53 Upto 1.95GHz | 12nm 4x ARM Cortex A53 Upto 1.95GHz |
| GPU | Qualcomm® Adreno™ 506 | Qualcomm® Adreno™ 509 | Qualcomm® Adreno™ 615 GPU | Qualcomm® Adreno™ 505 GPU | Qualcomm® Adreno™ 504 GPU |
| Cellular Modem | Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X9 modem | Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X12 LTE modem (600/150Mbps) | Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X12 LTE modem (600/150Mbps) | Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X6 LTE modem | Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X6 LTE modem |
| Display | FHD+ | FHD+ | FHD+ *Up to 4K external display support* | FHD+ | HD+ |
| Bluetooth | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Location Tracking | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS |
| Camera/Video | Up to 4K UltraHD capture @30FPS Up to 1080p video capture @120 FPS Up to 4K Ultra HD playback @30FPS H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), VP9, VP8 | Up to 4K UltraHD capture @ 30 fps Up to 1080p video capture @120 FPS Up to 4K Ultra HD video playback H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), VP9, VP8 | Up to 4K UltraHD capture @ 30 FPS Up to 1080p video capture @ 120 FPS H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), VP9, VP8 | 1080p@30fps capture and playback Hardware HVEC | 1080p@30fps video capture and playback Hardware HVEC |
Above is a table that showcases Qualcomm’s recent additions in their mid-range lineup. The table casually compares Qualcomm’s current lineup consisting of the Snapdragon 632, 636, 670, 439 and 432.
We could see, that with the new 670 bumping itself into the line, both Qualcomm and OEM would come to realize how amazing of a chip the 670 could be for the mid-range market.
Manufactured with independent power and efficiency clusters — two cores for data-intensive tasks and six cores for everyday demands — the Kryo 360 CPU provides a 15% performance uplift compared to the previous generation for virtually seamless, ultra-speedy multitasking.
Qualcomm
Featuring a new Kyro 360 and a new Adreno 615 GPU, we’re looking at a 15% uplift in the compute department according to Qualcomm. The eight Kyro 360 cores consist of two high-performance cores and a six low powered cores for general compute tasks.
Given how much Qualcomm has been improving over the years and how dedicated it has become at keeping the market fresh and enthusiastic, the future for budget devices is certainly bright, especially if you’re willing to pickup a Chinese device from Xiaomi, Asus and others packing the 670.
However, given how fast Xiaomi jumped onto the Snapdragon 710, I would be keen to see the interest of other brands in the 670. Since its quite a powerful chip, I’m sure some brands would opt for either chip. It won’t be long for some device to pack this new SoC so that we could put it through its paces in the real world.
