New SNAPDRAGONS will make dual-camera phones cheaper
If the prices of new dual-camera phones are anything to go by, its obvious prices seem to be pushing north of what is affodable. But fear not, there is hope yet, Qualcomm has just unveiled three new Snapdragon chipsets, for the 600 series- 653 and 626 for mid-range smartphone, and the 427 for entry-level smartphones and tablets. The best news is Qualcomm has introduced dual camera support, extending the feature for the first time beyond its flagship Snapdragon 800 series to the Snapdragon 600 and Snapdragon 400 series.
The Snapdragon 653 and the Snapdragon 626 SoCs have octa-core CPUs meant to power mid-range smartphones like the HTC Desire series and the Xperia M series. The new additions to the family provide up to 10 per cent higher CPU performance from its predecessors, the 652 and the 625, along with a boost in GPU performance. Both the new chipsets also support twice the addressable memory now up to 8GB. The 626 also supports TruSignal antenna boost technology to improve network reception in highly congested areas.
The 427, on the other hand has a quad-core CPU and belongs to the Snapdragon 400 series, meant for entry-level smartphones. The new chipsets provides a boost in both CPU and GPU performance over the previous Snapdragon 425 chipset. It integrates X9 LTE modem and the TruSignal Antenna Boost technology. The 427 is the first in the 400 series to sport these features. The new chipsets also feature the new Hexagon DSP and the Snapdragon X9 LTE modem. Quick Charge 3.0 support has also been added. The new X9 LTE modem supports LTE-A carrier aggregation offering up to 300mbps maximum download speeds and 150mbps maximum upload speeds. In addition, 64-QAM modulation has been added in the uplink. All the three new SoCs support enhanced voice services (EVS) codes to support Ultra HD VoLTE calls.
With the new chipsets, it is clear that Qualcomm is now making the features seen in its high-end 800 series SoCs, available to the lower-end devices like dual-camera support. So, expect to see mid-range phones sporting dual cameras by next year.
