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Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon chips will power next-gen budget phones

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Qualcomm may have just launched the new Snapdragon 700 series a few months ago, but that doesn’t mean it’s slowing down in the release of budget and mid-range chipsets. In fact, the company has unveiled the new Snapdragon 632, Snapdragon 439, and Snapdragon 429 chipsets, aimed at bringing more power and smarter features to budget handsets.

Here is a rundown of the new chips and the features they have on offer.

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Snapdragon 632

The Snapdragon 632 may be the newest addition to the 600-series lineup, but it’s not quite the most powerful. It joins the likes of the Snapdragon 636 and offers features like eight Qualcomm Kryo 250 CPUs and an Adreno 506 GPU. It supports displays with up to a Full HD+ resolution, as well as up to a 24-megapixel single lens, or a 13-megapixel dual-lens camera. Like many of Qualcomm’s other chipsets, the eight CPUs aren’t all functioning in the same way — instead, the chipset features four “performance” cores, and four “efficiency” cores, which kick in for lower-power tasks, ultimately saving battery.

According to Qualcomm, the chipset should offer several performance boosts over the previous generation Snapdragon 626. For starters, it boasts up to a 40 percent CPU performance boost over the last chip, as well as up to a 10 percent GPU performance boost.

There aren’t any phones with the new chip yet, but phones with the previous generation Snapdragon 626 include the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Pro, Moto Z2 Play, and more. Phones of a similar tier will likely adopt the Snapdragon 632 in the future.

Snapdragon 439

The Snapdragon 439 is set to be an excellent option for manufacturers building ultra-budget handsets. The chip replaces the Snapdragon 430 and brings with it a number of great features. Like the Snapdragon 632, the chipset offers eight CPUs, with four performance cores and four efficiency cores — though the CPUs here are Cortex A53 CPUs rather than the Kryo 250 CPUs in the Snapdragon 632. According to Qualcomm, the CPUs offer a performance boost of up to 25 percent over the Snapdragon 430. The GPU on the chip is the Adreno 505, which boasts up to a 20 percent boost over the Snapdragon 430. As far as camera support goes, the Snapdragon 439 supports up to a 21-megapixel single lens, or an 8-megapixel dual sensor.

Phones that used the previous generation Snapdragon 430 include the Moto G5, Nokia 6, and more — so similarly priced phones will likely adopt the Snapdragon 439.

Snapdragon 429

The Snapdragon 429 is the second new chipset in the 400 series, and its aimed at even cheaper phones than the Snapdragon 439. Instead of the eight CPUs found in the Snapdragon 439 and Snapdragon 620, the Snapdragon 429 features four Cortex A53 CPUs, and Qualcomm says this will give the chipset up to a 25 percent performance boost compared to the Snapdragon 425. The chipset also features an Adreno 504 GPU, which delivers up to a whopping 50 percent GPU performance boost over the Snapdragon 425. The chipset supports up to a 16-megapixel single sensor, or an 8-megapixel dual sensor.

Phones that feature the now-outdated Snapdragon 425 include the Xiaomi Redmi 5A and Samsung Galaxy J2.

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Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper
Contributor
Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…
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