Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 480 SoC to bring 5G to low-cost phones

As 5G-enabled phones secured their place as big players in smartphone technology in 2020, access to this latest functionality has been limited to high-end phones. But things are about to change, as Qualcomm today announced the development of the Snapdragon 480 5G mobile platform, which is expected to usher in a new wave of low-cost smartphones with cutting edge features of the latest wireless standard.

5G technology promises higher peak data speeds, very low latency and greater reliability. With the current crop of 5G-enabled phones hovering above $ 500, Qualcomm’s 5G extension to the Series 4 SoC could pave the way for smartphones with prices in the $ 125 to $ 250 range.

The Snapdragon 480 chipset incorporates an X51 modem that supports mmWave and bandwidths below 6 GHz, which ensures compatibility with almost all 5G networks available today. 5G is not available everywhere, but users in regions offering the technology will see download speeds of 2.5 Gbps and upload speeds of up to 660 Mbps.

Qualcomm says the new 400-series processor will offer major improvements over the previous generation. The Snapdragon 480 is expected to double the speed performance of its predecessor, the Snapdragon 460. Qualcomm credits its 8 nm manufacturing process, along with new CPU and GPU elements for improvement. Qualcomm says that AI tasks will have a 70% improvement over the previous generation.

It will also offer 64 megapixel images and the ability to capture photos from each of the three cameras on board simultaneously. Three 720p videos can also be captured at the same time.

Other features of the 480 include Bluetooth 5.1 and the adoption of the Charge 4+ standard, which will offer better charging speeds on new phones.

The announcement of the manufacturers that will use the new processor will be made in the coming months. Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi, Motorola and Nokia should be among the first to adopt.

In a statement released on Monday, Kedar Kondap, vice president of product management at Qualcomm Technologies, said: “Qualcomm Technologies continues to accelerate the commercialization of 5G globally to make 5G smartphones more accessible, especially as people in around the world continue to connect remotely. The Snapdragon 480 5G Mobile The platform will exceed OEM and consumer expectations by providing high and mid-range features at an affordable price. “

Qualcomm led the launch of 5G technology with a series of platforms launched at the beginning of last year. These platforms included the Snapdragon 854, 765, 750G and 690. Its new flagship, the Snapdragon 888, is due to be unveiled later this month.

Today’s announcement is just the opening salvo in what promises to be a year filled with enhanced and innovative features in an expanding technology field at an explosive pace. According to Review 42, a website dedicated to technology enthusiasts, there are 5.11 billion cell phone users globally tapping, sliding and clicking on their phones an average of 2,617 times a day. Worldwide, they say, more people own cell phones than toothbrushes, and they check these phones more than 50 times a day.

In addition to faster and cheaper 5G smartphones in 2021, the new year also promises devices with faster screens, with refresh rates of up to 120Hz and 144Hz; insufficient screen cameras to avoid the unpleasant bumps on the lenses that populate so many phones today; higher resolution video, video capture up to 8K; and more AR and VR features.

© 2021 Science X Network