Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 730, 730G And 665 Chips Which Offers Premium Features To Mid-Range Phones

This year is another big year for Qualcomm as it announces new chips that would cater to mid-range smartphones. The chip vendor announces new Snapdragon chips as key updates.

Over the years, Qualcomm has dominated the mid-range division all thanks to the Snapdragon 6xx and 7xx series. Snapdragon 655 will take over the 636 and 660. And there will also be two new additions in the 7xx series – the Snapdragon 730 and 730G.

The three chips are said to boast several upgrades in terms of performance and AI capabilities. Also, Qualcomm is adding 5x optical zoom support.

The Snapdragon 730 and 730G are added with some flagship-tier features for the first time in the 7xx series, which includes Vulkan 1.1 graphics, Wi-Fi 6, HDR gaming, 4th-generation AI engine, and Spectra 350 ISP.

Qualcomm is still looking to continue in the sub-$500 category. As of today, there has not been a smartphone that sports the new Snapdragon 7xx series, but Qualcomm has confirmed that a device with the 7xx series will debut in the US very soon.

Snapdragon 730/730G’s HDR Gaming And 4th-Gen AI Engine

Both the Snapdragon 730 and 730G chips are designed to offer flagship-tier performance on the mid-range division. These chips are expected to deliver an uptick from last year’s platform and bring Qualcomm’s latest technologies to the table.

First, the AI engine of both Snapdragon 730 and 730G sport the 4th-generation AI engine with Tensor accelerator cores which provide 2x boost in AI-related tasks.

Both of the chipsets support Wi-Fi 6 with 2×2 MU-MIMO, X15 LTE modems that offer up to 800Mbps download speeds, Dual SIM Dual VoLTE, as well as VoWiFi.

But the Snapdragon 730G is more gaming-focused. It features a GPU clocked higher for a 15-percent faster performance.

The Snapdragon 730G will support smartphones with 1440p display, which is now up from the 1080p on the regular 730 chip. The Snapdragon 730G also offers 960fps slow-motion video.

Snapdragon 655 Offers Premium Features To Mid-Range Smartphones

If you think that the two chips weren’t enough, Qualcomm drops the bomb and announces another chip – Snapdragon 655. This is the follow-up to 2017’s 660 chipset and is expected to have several upgrades from its predecessors.

It features 3rd-generation AI engine which is twice as fast as the one on the Snapdragon 660. And the Spectra 165 ISP introduces AI-assisted camera features.

And like the Snapdragon 730 and 730G chipsets, the 665 supports Vulkan 1.1 and aptX Adaptive and Aqstic codecs. There is also support for dual cameras up to 16MP, single 25MP cameras with zero shutter lag and 48MP sensors in snapshot mode.

The chipset is compatible with three camera configurations, and offers 4K video at 30fps and 720p at 240fps. Other features include Wi-Fi ac with MU-MIMO, FHD+ display support (2520×1080), quick charge 3.0, X12 LTE modem with 600Mbps download speeds, dual SIM dual Standby, VoWiFi, and up to 8GB of RAM.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 730G, 730 And 655 Prices And Release Date

And in what price-range would these chipsets fall? The Snapdragon 655 will be aimed at smartphones that will cost at a range of $200 to $300.

Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 730 and 730G chips are targeting smartphones in the $300 to $500 price-range.

According to Qualcomm, the first batch of devices with these new chipsets on will start rolling out in the middle of 2019.