Qualcomm Snapdragon 460, 662 and 720G say a lot about what’s coming to mid-range and budget smartphones in India

Qualcomm has a set of three new processors for budget and mid-range phones. Here’s what the new Qualcomm chipsets have to offer.

Qualcomm’s new chipsets for budget and mid-range phones. (REUTERS)

Qualcomm has just unveiled three new Snapdragon-branded processors for the mid-range and budget smartphones. The Snapdragon 460, Snapdragon 662 and the most powerful in the trio, Snapdragon 720G are meant to enhance the smartphone not just when it comes to overall performance but connectivity, battery and more. We have already talked about the specifics of the three processors but here we are breaking down how it will actually affect the experience of end users. Let's take one at a time, shall we?

Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G, being the most powerful in the trio, has the most to offer when it comes to mid-range smartphones. If in case you buy a smartphone running on this processor, you can expect 4G speeds downloading similar to what you get in mid-range smartphones featuring Snapdragon 730/730G processor. Some handsets for reference - Realme X2, Oppo Reno 2, Xiaomi Redmi K20 and more.

The processor also has HEIF support, which means partners have the option to implement this image file support. This is said to retain image details without weighing as heavy as JPEGs.

In addition to this, you also get Wi-Fi 6 support. What's Wi-Fi 6? It's the industry latest WiFi standard that delivers low latency and faster data transfer over Wi-Fi connectivity among other features. However, just having a Wi-Fi 6 support in processors won't work alone. You would also require a Wi-Fi 6 router and good internet connectivity.

As for the battery, the processor is claimed to bring battery level from 0 to 50% in 15 mins of charge. However, that's in ideal conditions and the results will always vary. This support is already there in Snapdragon 730/730G processors as well.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 won't give you as good 4G data transfer speeds as the Snapdragon 720G as the former has a less powerful X11 LTE modem onboard. This also has HEIF media file support along with Wi-Fi 6. Besides the modem, what else has changed here is the Quick Charge 3.0 support. The tech can be found in several budget smartphones and is claimed to fill the battery of a smartphone from 0 to 50% in 20 minutes.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 brings Snapdragon 720G's Wi-Fi 6 feature onboard while it borrows the Quick Charge 3.0 tech, and Snapdragon X11 LTE modem from the Snapdragon 662 processor. So while end users can still use Wi-Fi 6 as and when it arrives, it won't support HEIF media format.

However, one of the biggest additions in all three processors is the support for NavIC. Qualcomm has partnered with ISRO for NavIC support. This is an independent Indian Satellite based positioning system that aims to deliver reliable positioning and navigation services over India and some neighbouring countries. This aims to make mapping and navigation better and accurate in smartphones. The system works on a constellation of seven satellites. Since Xiaomi and Realme have confirmed the use of Snapdragon 720G processor in their smartphones coming later this year, one can expect NavIC support as well for more accurate mapping services.