One of the biggest problems with 5G is the impact it has on phone prices, often increasing the cost of current phones by about $ 100 or more compared to standard 4G phones. But with the introduction of its new Snapdragon 480 chip, Qualcomm is looking to make 5G phones more affordable.
Despite being part of Qualcomm’s entry-level 400-series mobile chip family, the Snapdragon 480 not only supports both sub-6GHz and 5W mmWave, but also has an eight-core processor consisting of two Cortex A76 cores. high performance, along with six Cortex A55 cores for increased energy efficiency. This means that the Snapdragon 480 could offer similar performance levels to the Snapdragon 730G chip used in phones such as Pixel 4a for $ 350, but with additional support for state-of-the-art cellular networks. That’s it something that will be of great help to any phone manufacturer who want to create budget 5G phones.
When it comes to wireless connectivity, Snapdragon 480 uses a built-in X51 modem that Qualcomm claims can reach download speeds of up to 2.5 Gbps or uploads of up to 660 Mbps on 5G or maximum download speeds of up to 800 Mbps when connected to a regular 4G LTE network. And in addition to 5G, Snapdragon 480 also supports Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi 6.
And, even though it was designed to be an entry-level chip, the Snapdragon 480 can also offer some high-end features previously found only on several premium phones, such as support for 120Hz displays (at FHD resolutions +), captures photos with up to three cameras in one (up to 13 MP each), triple simultaneous video capture (up to 720p) and even 70% better AI performance compared to the previous Snapdragon 460 chip.
G / O Media may receive a commission
Eenthusiasm for new mobile chips can be somewhat dampened even when it comes to flagship SoCs, such as the future Snapdragon 888, but with Qualcomm targeting the Snapdragon 480 chip for use in $ 250 gadgets and several device manufacturers, including Oppo, HMD and OnePlus, that are already committed to new devices that use the chip, Snapdragon 480 is ready to be a very important piece of silicon.
This is doubly true for the US, because unlike other countries, such as China, which relies largely on the sub-6GHz spectrum for early 5G deployment, major US carriers (especially Verizon and AT&T) have they have invested a lot of resources in building their 5W mmWave spectrum. This means that in the US it will become increasingly important to have devices in every price range that can support both sub-6Ghz and mmWave 5G, especially as we move into the latter part of the year and into 2022. , when operators will start converting some of their older 3G networks for newer and faster 5G coverage.