Qualcomm has announced two new mobile processors, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 and Snapdragon 4 Gen 5, aimed at mid-range and budget devices. The focus is on improved performance, smoother interfaces, and longer battery life.
The Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 includes several gaming and system enhancements, such as the Adaptive Performance Engine 4.0 and Adaptive Performance FPS 3.0 for stable frame rates. Game Super Resolution improves image quality while saving power.
This chip features a quad-core configuration with a clock speed of up to 2.6 GHz, higher than its predecessor. The Adreno GPU is 21% faster, and energy efficiency has increased by about 8%. It supports LPDDR5 RAM, UFS 3.1 storage, and displays up to 1080p+ at 144 Hz.
Interface smoothness is handled by Snapdragon Smooth Motion UI. According to Qualcomm, apps launch 20% faster and lagging incidents drop by 18%.
For cameras, there’s a 12-bit ISP that supports sensors up to 200 MP (or 64 MP with zero shutter lag). Video recording goes up to 4K at 30 fps. AI-based image processing features include night mode and digital zoom up to 100x.
Connectivity includes 5G with speeds up to 2.8 Gbps, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0. However, mmWave is missing, and USB is limited to version 2.0.
The Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 also sees notable upgrades. Graphics performance jumps 77% compared to the previous generation, enabling up to 90 fps in games. Interface speed improves: apps launch 43% faster, and instances of lag are reduced by 25%.
CPU frequency reaches 2.4 GHz, while power consumption drops about 10%. But there are trade-offs: the chip only supports LPDDR4X memory instead of faster LPDDR5.
Connectivity benefits from Dual SIM Dual Active (5G + 5G/4G), with download speeds up to 2.8 Gbps. Local connections are more modest, with Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1.
Smartphones based on these new chips will arrive in the second half of the year. Partners already named include Honor, OPPO, Realme, and Redmi.