HONG KONG — U.S. chip maker Qualcomm on Tuesday introduced three new processors to its mid-range Snapdragon lineup, with enhanced modem capabilities, quick charging and other new features.
The processors include two – the Snapdragon 626 and the Snapdragon 653 – in the company’s Snapdragon 600 family and one – the Snapdragon 427 – in its 400 lineup.
According to the company, all three chips come with increased processing performance as well as new features like Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology, dual camera support and an X9 LTE with Cat 7 modem. The company said the new modem includes support for 300 mbps downlink speeds and 150 mbps uplink speeds for a 50 percent increase over maximum uplink speeds in its previous X8 modem. The modem also supports 2×20 MHz carrier aggregation, 64-QAM modulation, Wi-FI calling and HD Voice services.
Qualcomm said the new Snapdragon 653 includes an increase in CPU and GPU performance over its Snapdragon 652 predecessor, and also doubled the addressable memory from 4 GB to 8 GB. The 653 is pin and software compatible with the 650 and 652, Qualcomm said.
The Snapdragon 626 also includes a CPU bump over its predecessor, the Snapdragon 625, as well as TruSignal antenna boost to help reception in congested areas. The 626 is pin and software compatible with the 625, and is software compatible with the 425, 427, 430 and 435 processors.
The 626 and 653 are already available commercially, with device launches expected by the end of the year. The 427 is expected to become available in commercial device launches in early 2017, Qualcomm said.