Qualcomm's line of Snapdragon chipsets are widely used in the world of mobile, and today Qualcomm introduced several new additions to its Snapdragon family.
First up, there are three new chips aimed at mid-range smartphones. The Snapdragon 632 is an octa-core processor that offers up to 40 percent faster performance than the Snapdragon 626. It also boasts support for either a single 24MP rear camera or dual 13MP rear cameras, 4K video capture, and display resolutions up to FHD+. The included X9 LTE modem offers 2x20MHz carrier aggregation and download speeds up to 300Mbps.
Next is the Snapdragon 439. Also an octa-core processor, the SD439 offers up to 25 percent better CPU performance and power efficiency and an Adreno 505 GPU with up to 20 percent better graphics rendering compared to the Snapdragon 430. It's got support for up to a 21MP single rear camera or 8MP dual cameras, FHD+ displays, and an X6 LTE modem that supports 2x10MHz carrier aggregation and up to 150Mbps download speeds.
And then there's the Snapdragon 429. This quad-core chipset boasts up to 25 percent better CPU performance and power efficiency compared to the Snapdragon 425 as well as up to 50 percent better graphics performance thanks to its Adreno 504 GPU. There's also support for a single 16MP rear camera or 8MP dual rear cameras. The same X6 LTE modem found in the Snapdragon 439 is found in the Snapdragon 429, too.
Qualcomm expects the first commercial devices with the Snapdragon 632, 439, and 429 processors to launch in the second half of 2018.
Also introduced today is Qualcomm's newest wearable-focused chipset. The Snapdragon Wear 2500 is actually aimed at 4G-connected kids watches and offers up to 14 percent longer batter life thanks to features like RF Front End, Wearable PMIC, and both processor and modem software optimizations. Also included is NFC, support for a 5MP camera, and support for voice assistants.
Qualcomm says that there's an optimized version of Android for kid watches coming alongside the Snapdragon Wear 2500. It's based on Android Oreo and works with 512MB of RAM.
Qualcomm is working with several ODMs on 4K kid watch designs. Huawei has said that it's the first company expected to commercialze a 4K kids watch using the Snapdragon Wear 2500 platform, so keep an eye out for that.