Qualcomm Launches Snapdragon 720G, Snapdragon 662, Snapdragon 460 SoCs With Wi-Fi 6, NavIC Support

Qualcomm has expanded its range of mobile platforms by launching the Snapdragon 720G, Snapdragon 662, and Snapdragon 460 in India. The new system-on-chip (SoC) models by the company are aimed to provide fast 4G connectivity alongside supporting Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. To cater to the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) backed user experiences and always-on voice assistants, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G, Snapdragon 662, and Snapdragon 460 also come with the Qualcomm AI Engine and Qualcomm Sensing Hub. Qualcomm has underlined that while 5G is getting wider across the globe, it will continue to focus on building 4G-supporting technologies for regions including India.

Smartphones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G are expected to debut commercially in the first quarter of this year, while handsets based on the Snapdragon 662 and Snapdragon 460 are slated to arrive by the end of this year. Qualcomm hasn't revealed the list of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that will use the new chips. However, Realme and Xiaomi are set to be the two initial smartphone makers bringing smartphones with the Snapdragon 720G SoC.

In addition to Qualcomm AI Engine, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G, Snapdragon 662, and Snapdragon 460 SoCs come with the Qualcomm Location Suite that supports up to seven satellite constellations concurrently and leverages navigation system NavIC that has been developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to provide accurate location performance both in urban and remote areas of India. These are the first mobile chips from Qualcomm to support NavIC. 

“The availability of NavIC across multiple mobile platforms will help enhance the geolocation capabilities of smartphones in the region and bring the benefits of this indigenous solution to Indian consumers for their day-to-day use,” said K Sivan, Chairman, ISRO, in a prepared statement.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G specifications

As per the official details, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G will be aimed to deliver newer gaming and entertainment experiences. The new chip includes Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gaming features and is designed to provide HDR game play along with dynamic colour range and contrast and synchronised sound using Qualcomm aptX Adaptive. The company has included the Qualcomm Spectra 350L ISP for HDR viewing and high-quality video streaming. Further, the chip is capable of supporting 4K video recording and capturing 192-megapixel still images.

The Snapdragon 720G, which comes as the watered down version of the Snapdragon 730G, has Snapdragon X15 LTE modem with support for 3-carrier aggregation, 4x4 MIMO on two carriers, and 256-QAM modulation for download speeds up to 800Mbps. The chip is based on 8nm process technology and includes Kryo 465 CPU with two Cortex A76 cores at up to 2.3GHz and six Cortex A55 cores at up to 1.8GHz, along with new Adreno 618 GPU.

Qualcomm has provided the FastConnect 6200 subsystem that is touted to double Wi-Fi speed and range for online gaming and Web browsing compared to single antenna devices. Moreover, there is Qualcomm's Quick Charge 4+ technology to support fast charging and USB-PD sources.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 specifications

In addition to the Snapdragon 720G, Qualcomm's new range has the Snapdragon 662 SoC that comes with Qualcomm Spectra 340T supporting triple rear camera configurations -- with up to 48-megapixel primary sensor. The ISP also supports HEIF file format and enables AI-based user experiences such as avatars, night photography, and face and voice authentication. There is the Snapdragon X11 LTE modem that is rated to offer download speeds up to 390Mbps using 2-carrier aggregation, 2x2 MIMO, and 256-QAM modulation, along with 150Mbps peak uploads.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 SoC has Hexagon 683 and is powered by Kryo 260 CPU that has four cores of Cortex A73 at up to 2GHz and four cores of Cortex A53 at up to 1.8GHz, coupled with Adreno 610 GPU. The chip also supports Qualcomm Charge 3.0 along with support for Dual Charge.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 specifications

For affordable devices, Qualcomm has brought the Snapdragon 460 SoC that is touted to deliver up to 70 percent and 60 percent performance increase over the existing Snapdragon 450 platform. It is also claimed to deliver a two times increase in overall system performance compared to the previous offering. The chip has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 340 ISP that supports triple rear cameras, along with 25-megapixel primary sensor. There is also the Hexagon 683 with Qualcomm Hexagon Vector eXtensions (HVX) and hardware accelerated TensorFlow Lite for supporting newer user experiences.

Qualcomm has provided an integrated Snapdragon X11 LTE modem that supports download speeds of up to 390Mbps and upload speeds of up to 150Mbps.

The Snapdragon 460 SoC has Kryo 240 CPU with dedicated performance cores, paired with Adreno 610 GPU. There is also support for Quick Charge 3.0 along with Dual Charge support.

During a conference call before the official announcement, Kedar Kondap, Vice President -- Product Management, Qualcomm, highlighted that the prime purpose of launching the new Snapdragon mobile platforms is to help OEMs address various price segments in 4G-dominating markets such as India. The company is set to provide user-first experiences through the new models.