Qualcomm is set to release 3 mid-range chips as the new entrants in the Snapdragon family. The US-based chipmaker recently announced the 3 upper mid-range chipsets, focusing on AI, gaming as well as photography. These latest SoCs are the Snapdragon 665, Snapdragon 730, and Snapdragon 730G.
It is quite possible one or more of these processors will be featured in Samsung’s new Galaxy A phones, which are billed for release today. (The unveiling of these smartphones is currently ongoing.)
The Snapdragon 665 Chipset
Also known as SM6125, the Snapdragon 665 is an 11nm chipset that comprises 8 Kryo 260 cores in a 4 plus 4 arrangement, which is clocked at 2.0 gigahertz (GHz). It is these same cores that are in the 14nm Snapdragon 636 processor but now, they are on a smaller node which translates to better power efficiency.
The Snapdragon 665 places a huge emphasis on Artificial Intelligence with the Adreno 610 AIE GPU. The on-board third-gen AI will work in conjunction with the new Hexagon 686 DSP, as well as Qualcomm Spectra 165 ISP, to achieve improved low-light photography, enhanced portraits, and better ways of interacting with the environment.
Also, the 665’s onboard AI engine offers enhanced security with support for 3D Face Unlock. The new AI features, Qualcomm avers, are twice as fast as those of the Snapdragon 660.
The Snapdragon 665 offers support for Bluetooth 5.0 LPE, USB 3.1, as much as 16MP dual camera as well as 48MP single camera, 4K at 30fps, along with slow-motion video recording up to 120fps at 1080p. Its display support maxes out at 2520 x 1080 (FHD+) and also supports Quick Charge 3.0.
Snapdragon 730 & Snapdragon 730G
The Snapdragon 730, shortened as SM7150-AA, and Snapdragon 730G, with the acronym SM7150-AB, are 2 new processors designed by Qualcomm, with a focus on mobile gaming. Both of them are 8nm octa-core chipsets (2+6 core arrangement) featuring Kryo 470 CPUs that offer a maximum CPU clock speed of 2.2GHz, with Adreno 618 GPUs. The 2 processors offer a 35 percent increase in performance in comparison with the previous generation, says Qualcomm.
The Snapdragon 730 and 730G are the first seven series processors to come with the Hexagon Tensor Accelerator. Also, these 2 processors are designed with the Hexagon 688 DSP that works with the CPU and GPU for completing AI tasks faster and for saving more power.
The Snapdragon 730 duo place photography at the forefront as they both feature a Computer Vision ISP (CV-ISP), providing depth sensing capabilities at 60fps and makes use of four times less power in comparison with the Snapdragon 710. The Computer Vision ISP also lets you record 4K HDR videos with portrait mode as well as object segmentation. Also, it allows image capturing at 48 megapixels and supports multi-frame noise reduction.
The 2 processors come with the Snapdragon X15 LTE modem that offers up to 800Mbps download speeds. The Snapdragon 730 and 730G are equally Wi-Fi 6- ready and provide Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+.
The Snapdragon 730G towers above the other chips with its gaming features as its Adreno 618 GPU is enhanced and delivers 25 percent more performance than the Snapdragon 710. Also, it employs the Vulkan 1.1 graphics library that requires 20 percent less power compared with Open GL ES. It also has support for True HDR that renders your game in more than one billion shades of different colors; using Qualcomm AptX Adaptive Audio & Aqstic Audio Technology, the processor gives you “crystal-clear surround-sound audio”.
Furthermore, the 730G is equipped with anti-cheating optimizations for preventing hackers from cheating at the backend, providing a level playing field for all. Also, there’s a Jank reduce for decreasing stops as well as stutters by as much as 90 percent. Lastly, Wi-Fi latency is reduced significantly in a bid to allow devices powered by Snapdragon 730G to play multi-player games with less glitches as well as blips.
Sources: 1, 2
