Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor for mid-range phones announced

Qualcomm debuts its Snapdragon 700-tier with Snapdragon 710 SoC which comes with AI enhancements.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor will be released sometime in Q2 this year. (Qualcomm)

Qualcomm on Thursday announced Snapdragon 710 processor built on 10nm process technology. This is the first chip from Qualcomm's Snapdagon 700 series.

With Snapdragon 710 SoC, Qualcomm has focused on artificial intelligence by incorporating a multi-core AI Engine and neural network processing capabilities.

"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 from on-device high-speed AI processing, without sacrificing battery life," Kedar Kondap, VP of product management at Qualcomm said in a statement.

Qualcomm says that the new Snapdragon 710 chip is capable of capturing and sharing "contextually-aware photos and videos". It can also personalise voice and speech patterns for more natural interactions. For photography, Snapdragon 710 SoC improves on low light photography, noise reduction, fast autofocus, image stabilization, smooth zoom and real-time bokeh effects. It can support up to 32-megapixel single and 20-megapixel dual cameras.

It includes the X15 LTE modem and Spectra 250 image processor. Other features include improved up to 800 Mbps download speed, 10-bit colour support, and overall 20% performance enhancement with reduced power consumption.

The new Snapdragon 710 SoC will be the first Qualcomm chips to support playback of 4K HDR video outside of the flagship offerings. The chipset also offers Bluetooth 5 multicast audio with support for ultra-low power wireless earbuds.

Qualcomm is promising the first Snapdragon 710-powered phones to be released sometime in second quarter of 2018.