The Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 finally brings 5G to budget phones

Qualcomm is making 5G even more accessible. 2020 was the year that most phones started coming with 5G, and now it looks like 2021 will be the year it comes to the low end. That’s thanks to the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 480, which has Qualcomm’s X51 5G modem, and will likely feature in phones in the sub-$300 range. In 2020, Qualcomm released a few different 7-series chips that support 5G, which powered some of our favorite phones, as well as the Snapdragon 690 with 5G another tier down the line. Bringing the support to the 4-series means that phones across almost all price ranges will soon support 5G, except for, perhaps, the cheapest of the cheap phones that come with 2-series chips. The Snapdragon X51 5G modem supports both low-band Sub-6 networks, and the ultra high-frequency mmWave networks. That means that no matter how your carrier is deploying 5G, with a Snapdragon 480-powered phone, you should be able to take advantage of the network. That, of course, is despite the fact that mmWave availability is extremely limited. We’re quickly reaching the point where any phone over $150 will have 5G. Apart from supporting 5G, the Snapdragon 480 also supports the Wi-Fi 6 standard, and Quick Charge 4+. According to Qualcomm, it offers hefty 100% CPU and CPU improvements compared to the previous-generation Snapdragon 460, as well as AI improvements of up to 70%. This will be helpful — 4-series chips have been fine, but definitely underpowered compared to their more powerful 6-series, 7-series, and 8-series siblings. Other features include support for 120Hz displays, which would be a big step up for inexpensive phones if companies manage to get the panels in there. And it also has a new Spectra 345 ISP, which is a triple ISP that enables simultaneous capture of up to three cameras. Just last month, Qualcomm launched another new chip, the Snapdragon 888. The 888 is the company’s most powerful chipset to date, and it’s the first to be built on a 5nm process, following Apple’s A14 Bionic chip. Phones featuring the Snapdragon 888 have yet to be released, but the Galaxy S21 may be the first, if its rumored announcement date of January 14 turns out to be true. When it comes to Snapdragon 480 availability, Qualcomm says that the first devices to feature the new chip will be announced in “early 2021.” Nokia, Oppo, and Vivo all commented as part of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 480 press release, suggesting that they’ll be among the first to release Snapdragon 480-powered phones. Qualcomm is capitalizing on the increased interest around AI with its latest smartphone chip announcement. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor supports generative AI capabilities and several large language models (LLMs) to help midrange devices compete with their flagship counterparts, which have seen AI increasingly used as a major selling point. Qualcomm’s general manager of mobile handsets, Chris Patrick, confirmed the company’s intention with the chip in the press release, saying: Tecno likely isn’t a company most people have heard of; it’s certainly not as big as mobile giants like Samsung, Apple, ZTE, or Huawei. But if you’re looking for a solid midrange or budget phone, Tecno has a capable new device in its lineup with the Tecno Camon 30S Pro. It exists in the same family as the Camon 30 Premier, which Digital Trends’ Andy Boxall went hands-on with, testing out its unique camera tech and coming out with an overall positive impression. In the case of the Camon 30S Pro, it’s powered by the new Helio G100 chipset from MediaTek. While we don’t have performance numbers just yet, it’s a 6nm platform, and we’re expecting at least 7% better CPU performance. Under the hood, you get 8GB RAM, which can be virtually boosted to 16GB RAM. The phone comes with 256GB of storage. Qualcomm is pushing a new entry-level smartphone chip into its arsenal, and this one is expected to appear in phones toward the end of 2024. The silicon in question is the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2, which is a slightly watered-down version of the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor. The two most promising aspects are faster connectivity and improved camera capabilities for budget Android phones. First, the 5G-ready chip promises downlink speeds of up to 1Gbps, which is much faster than the 4G-only silicon available in the comparable price bracket.