Qualcomm has taken the covers off its newest mobile processor Snapdragon 710. It is part of the Snapdragon 700 series that was announced last year. The Snapdragon 710 is more powerful than the Snapdragon 660, Qualcomm's premium mid-range processor. Yet the 710 is not as powerful as the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 845.
The new processor would bring an enhanced user experience to phones. It will bring twice the AI performance than the Snapdragon 660. This would improve many experiences like the voice-based user interfaces, photography and biometrics. The Snapdragon 700 boasts parts like X15 LTE modem or Spectra 250 image processor, which are toned down versions of the powerful X20 modem and Spectra 280 processor from the Snapdragon 800 line of chips.
The X15 LTE modem will surely provide faster speeds than the X12 modem from the 600 series with better signal strength and up to 800 Mbps downloads. However, it will not offer the gigabit LTE speeds that the X20 gives.
Snapdragon 710 phones will also support playback of 4K HDR video outside the company's flagship offerings.
The Snapdragon 710 also promises various other features which are better than the Snapdragon 660. The 710 which is built on a 10nm architecture, and promises drastic reductions to power consumption, especially while watching videos or playing games. It will also bring an overall boost of 20 percent in performance over the Snapdragon 660.
All these new features on the Snapdragon 710 offers something that is not exactly a flagship chip but is more powerful than what is being offered by the existing mid-range options. Qualcomm could be aiming for the international markets with the Snapdragon 710, especially where the Android phones market is dominated by companies likle Xiaomi and Vivo.
"The Snapdragon 710 Mobile Platform is the first in the newly defined and highly significant 700-tier, offering technologies and features previously only available in our premium-tier mobile platforms," said Kedar Kondap, vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
"By incorporating key AI capabilities and performance advancements, the Snapdragon 710 is designed to transform our customers products into the ultimate personal assistant, enhancing critical everyday consumer experiences, such as high-end camera features that will benefit fromon-device high-speed AI processing, without sacrificing battery life," he further added.
Qualcomm has promised that the first phones with the Snapdragon 710 would be available in the second quarter of 2018.