Qualcomm Launches 4 New Octa-Core SoCs in Snapdragon 400 and 600 Series

Qualcomm has announced four new mid-range mobile SoCs in its Snapdragon 400 and 600 series, dubbed the Snapdragon 415, Snapdragon 425, Snapdragon 618 and Snapdragon 620.

The chipmaker says the Snapdragon 415 chipset is in sampling now and can be expected in commercial devices in the first half (H1) of 2015, whereas the other SoCs - Snapdragon 425, Snapdragon 618, and Snapdragon 620 - are expected to be in commercial devices in the second half (H2) of 2015.

The new 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 618 and Snapdragon 620 use four ARM Cortex-A72 cores and four ARM Cortex-A53 cores, but the biggest highlight is that the SoCs will bring support for 4K video capture and playback for mid-range devices, which was previously only available in company's Snapdragon 800 class products. Other than that, the processors will also support Quad-HD (1440x2560 pixels) displays along with the next-generation Adreno GPU, says company.

The Snapdragon 618 and Snapdragon 620 chipsets will also include QuickCharge 2.0 technology, X8 LTE modem, VoLTE support, dual channel LPDDR3 memory support, dual Image Signal Processors (ISPs) supporting twin 13-megapixel cameras, and more.

The Snapdragon 415 and Snapdragon 425 sport 64-bit Cortex-A53 cores, with the 415 an octa-core offering, and the 425 a quad-core offering.

The Snapdragon 425 will support the X8 LTE modem, while the Snapdragon 415 will have a slower modem - X5 LTE. Other than, that both the Snapdragon 400 processors will offer the same specifications.

"We are excited to announce the Snapdragon 620 and 618 processors with next-generation graphics, camera, 4K video capture and connectivity, all premium tier features previously only found in our Snapdragon 800 class products. The Snapdragon 620 and 618 also both come with X8 LTE, as does the Snapdragon 425, marking the first time we've supported this amazingly fast speed at the 400 tier," said Alex Katouzian, Senior Vice President of Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies.