Qualcomm is the biggest player in the chip industry. Their current flagship chip, the Snapdragon 845 is used in numerous smartphone flagships such as the Galaxy S9 and OnePlus 6. However, their chips are not only limited to the high-end segment. They have launched 3 new budget chips, the Snapdragon 632, 439 and 429. These chips will be used in budget-friendly smartphones. Contrary to the public belief of “cheap means bad”, these chips actually bring quite a significant number of good features to the phones. Here are details of the individual chips:
1. Snapdragon 632
The 632 has 8 Qualcomm Kry cores – 4 of them being “power” cores while the remainder being “efficiency” cores. The core setup encourages performance and battery efficiency at the same time, something which is in mass demand in budget smartphones. It has an Adreno 506 GPU which supports resolutions up to Full HD+. Coming to the camera, the chip supports a single lens 24-MP camera or alternatively a 13 MP dual camera setup. The 632 offers a 40% performance boost from its predecessor, the Snapdragon 626. Additionally, the GPU’s performance is reportedly 10% better as well.
2. Snapdragon 439
The 439 is succeeding the Snapdragon 430. It is set to be the go-to chip for manufacturers looking to make ultra-budget smartphones. Like the 632, the 439 also has 8 cores with 4 being power cores and the remaining 4 being efficiency cores. The 439’s cores are Cortex A53s which reportedly offer 25% improved performance than the 430. The chip uses Adreno 505 as the GPU, which I might add is 20% better than the GPU on the 430. The chip carries the support of up to a 21 MP single-lens camera or an 8 MP dual camera setup. Phones like the Nokia 6 used the Snapdragon 430, thereby phones lying in the same price bracket should be expected to feature the 439.
3. Snapdragon 429
The 429 is the second addition to the 400 series of chips. It is aimed at phones cheaper than the ones using 439. Unlike the two chips mentioned above, the 429 will feature a 4-core setup running Cortex A53 CPUs. According to Qualcomm, this will give the 429 a 25% jump in performance relative to the Snapdragon 425. The chip’s Adreno 504 GPU’s performance is 50% better than that of the 425. The 429 has the support of a 16 MP single lens camera or an 8 MP dual camera setup. The Xiaomi Redmi 5A used the Snapdragon 425, which means that phones in the similar bracket are likely to feature the 429.
The introduction of these chips is likely to have a huge hand in the stature of budget phones in the market. All these chips carry support for a significant lot of amazing features, which can indefinitely impact the market for mid-range phones as well. Let’s face it, who doesn’t want to get premium features without breaking their banks, right?
