Qualcomm has announced two new processors: the Snapdragon 430 and the Snapdragon 617. Both the processors are aimed towards mid-range smartphones and offer better multimedia and connectivity.
Alex Katouzian, senior vice president, product management said, “As smartphones and tablets continue to spread to all corners of the globe, we recognize that users are becoming more discerning in what they want.” Further, he said, "The introduction of these new processors is a clear indication that we are listening to the needs of our customers who want ever improving cameras, faster connectivity, and better battery life across all available price points.”
The Snapdragon 430 comes with X6 LTE that has Cat 4 downlink speeds up to 150 Mbps and support of 2×10 MHz Carrier Aggregation. It also has Cat 5 uplink speeds of up to 75Mbps with support for 64-QAM. The processor also supports camera sensors up to 21MP. The Snapdragon 430 uses the new Adreno 505 GPU that features Open GL ES3.1, Android Extension Pack, as well as OpenCL 2.0.
The Snapdragon 617 improves upon the Snapdragon 430. It comes with X8 LTE with Cat 7 downlink speeds of up to 300 Mbps and upload speeds of 100 Mbps. It uses bi-directional 2×20 MHz carrier aggregation. The processor also shares the same software advances, dual-ISP as well as camera architecture with the Snapdragon 620 and the 618. It also runs the same software package as these two SoCs. This will help OEMs to deliver products using the Snapdragon 617 quickly.
The Snapdragon 430 and the 617 pair with WTR 2965, a new cost-optimized RF transceiver for optimal RF performance and global carrier aggregation. Both SoCs use ARM Cortex A53 cores in an octa-core configuration and also include support for Qualcomm’s next generation of fast charging technology, Quick Charge 3.0. Each of the SoCs come with Qualcomm Hexagon DSP that supports low power sensors and advanced audio.
Devices with the Snapdragon 617 are expected to be available before the end of 2015, while those featuring the 430 are expected by Q2 2016.