One of the biggest problems with 5G is the impact it has on phone prices, often increases the cost of current devices by about $ 100 or more compared to standard 4G phones. But with the launch of its new Snapdragon 480 chip, Qualcomm wants to make 5G phones much more affordable.
Despite being part of Qualcomm’s entry-level family of 400-series mobile chips, the Snapdragon 480 not only supports both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G, but also features an eight-core processor consisting of two high-performance Cortex A76 cores along with six Cortex A55 cores for enhanced energy efficiency. This means that the Snapdragon 480 can offer similar performance levels as the Snapdragon 730G chip used in phones like the $ 350 Pixel 4a, but with additional support for next-generation cellular networks. It is something that will be of great help to all mobile phone manufacturers looking for 5G mobile phones.
In terms of wireless connectivity, the Snapdragon 480 uses a built-in X51 modem that, according to Qualcomm’s download speeds of up to 2.5 Gbps or uploads of up to 660 Mbps on 5G or maximum download speeds of up to 800 Mbps when paired. a regular 4G LTE network. And in addition to 5G, the Snapdragon 480 also supports Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi 6.
And while designed to be an entry-level chip, the Snapdragon 480 can also deliver some excellent features previously only found on more premium phones, such as support for 120Hz screens (at FHD + resolutions), photo recording with up to three cameras on one (up to 13 MP each), triple simultaneous video recording (up to 720p), and even 70% better AI performance compared to the previous Snapdragon 460 slide.
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Ethe excitement about new mobile chips can be somewhat dampened, even if we talk about the flagship soCs like the upcoming Snapdragon 888, but with Qualcomm targeting the Snapdragon 480 chip for use in $ 250 devices and several device manufacturers, including Oppo, HMD and OnePlus, are already committed to making new devices that use the chip, the Snapdragon 480 is ready to be a very important piece of silicone.
This is doubly true for the US, because unlike other countries such as China which rely heavily on the sub-6 GHz spectrum for early 5G implementation, the large US airlines (especially Verizon and AT&T) also invested a lot of resources to build their mmWave 5G spectrum. This means that in the US it will be increasingly critical to have devices in every price range that can support both sub-6Ghz and mmWave 5G, especially as we move into the later part of the year and 2022, carriers will start converting some of their older 3G networks in a newer and faster 5G coverage.