Qualcomm Delivers Faster LTE, 4K Video With New Snapdragon 400 And 600 Series SoCs

Qualcomm is launching four new SoC SKUs today in an effort to add increased performance and beefed up functionality for mid-range smartphones. The new SoCs include the Snapdragon 415/425 and Snapdragon 618/620.

The Snapdragon 415 and 425 are based on an octa-core Cortex A53 architecture and bring 64-bit support, ARMv8 instructions, and Quick Charge 2.0 support to the table. On the graphics side of things, the Snapdragon 415 and 425 now pack in an Adreno 405 GPU.

The Snapdragon 415 and 425 seem pretty evenly matched up until this point, but there is one spec that differentiates the two SoCs: LTE speeds. The Snapdragon features an X5 LTE modem aimed at “price conscious” consumers and supports download/upload speeds of 150Mbps/50Mbps. The Snapdragon 420, on the other hand, comes with an X8 LTE modem that bumps those speeds to 300Mbps/100Mbps.

The Snapdragon 415 will be available in consumer devices during the first half of 2015. The Snapdragon 425, however, won’t reach retail availability until the second half of 2015.

Moving up to the 600 Series SoCs, both the Snapdragon 618 and 620 use ARM’s new Cortex A72 cores that were first announced two weeks ago. The lower-rung Snapdragon 618 uses dual Cortex A72 cores paired with four low-power Cortex A53 cores. The Snapdragon 620 ups the ante with four Cortex A72 cores and four Cortex A53 cores. Both processors can stream and record 4K video, support dual 13MP cameras, Quick Charge 2.0 support, and feature X8 LTE modems.

The Snapdragon 615 and 620 will show up in consumer smartphones and tablets during the second half of 2015.