Sony has launched the Sony Xperia 8 Lite mid-range phone in Japan. In terms of specs and design, the handset appears to be a variant of the Sony Xperia 10 phone that debuted last year. In other words, it’s a rebranded Xperia 10 with different cameras on its back.

Sony Xperia 8 Lite specifications and features

The Sony Xperia 8 Lite measures 158 x 69 x 8.1mm and it weighs 170 grams. The phone features an LCD Triluminous Display of 6 inches. The screen offers Full HD+ resolution and a tall aspect ratio of 21:9. The display is shielded by Gorilla Glass 6. When the right edge of the Xperia 8 Lite is double tapped, a Side Sense bar shows up on the screen to give quick access to apps and settings.

Editor’s Pick: You can now use your Sony camera as a hi-res webcam

The thick bezel at the top of the Xperia 8 Lite has an f/2.0 aperture 8-megapixel selfie camera. The LED flash assisted f/1.8 aperture 12-megapixel + f/2.4 aperture 8-megapixel dual-camera system replaces the 13-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual camera setup that came with Xperia 10. The dual cameras of the Xperia 8 Lite support AI scene detection and 2x optical zoom.

The phone comes with the Snapdragon 630 chipset that debuted in 2017. Moreover, the phone comes loaded with the dated Android 9 Pie OS. The handset offers users with 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of internal storage, and 2,870mAh battery. The other features that are found the Xperia 8 Lite are 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, USB-C, 3.5mm audio jack, and a side-facing fingerprint reader.

Sony Xperia 8 Lite pricing and availability

The Sony Xperia 8 Lite has landed in Japan with a pricing of JPY 29,800 (~$280). Its two color variants are Black and White. Sony is yet to reveal any information on the phone’s availability outside of Japan.

UP NEXT: Sony Xperia 1 II is getting a new colorway with 12GB of RAM in Japan

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Sony has announced a new smartphone called the Sony Xperia 8 in Japan. In terms of appearance, the handset resembles the Sony Xperia 10 mid-range smartphone that was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 tech trade show in February. When it comes to specifications, the smartphone is slightly inferior to the Xperia 10.

Sony Xperia 8 Specifications and Features

The Xperia 8 that comes with IPX5/X8 water and IPX6 dust resistant body measures 158 x 59 x 8.1 and it weighs 170 grams. The front and rear sides of the phone are protected by Gorilla Glass 6 panels. The 6.0-inch IPS LCD Triluminous display that offers full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2520 pixels and a tall aspect ratio of 21:9 is available on the device. The Android 9 Pie OS customized with Xperia UI runs on the device. Sony claims that the handset can easily fit in the palm of the user and its tall display allows users to seamlessly view two apps through split-screen mode. The Side Sense bar can be accessed by double-tapping on the edge of the display to access frequently used apps and settings.

Editor’s Pick: Sony is developing a 3D holographic display that will be compatible with PlayStation

The rear shell of the phone has a horizontal dual camera setup that features an f/1.8 aperture 12-megapixel main lens and an f/2.4 aperture 8-megapixel depth sensor. The dual cameras offer features like 2x optical zoom, 13 types of scene recognition, 4K video recording with EIS and 120fps slow-motion video shooting. The front-facing f/2.0 aperture 8-megapixel camera can shoot beautified shots through the portrait selfie feature.

The Snapdragon 630 SoC along with 4 GB of RAM powers the Sony Xperia 8 smartphone. It offers with an internal storage of 64 GB. The company claims that the 2,760mAh battery of the Xperia 8 will not deteriorate even after 2 years of use. The other features of the Sony Xperia 8 include Google Assistant support, side-mounted fingerpint reader, microSD card slot, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, USB-C, 3.5mm audio jack, LDAC, Hi-Res audio and DSEE HX Digital Sound Enhancement Engine.

Sony Xperia Price and Availability

The pricing of the Xperia 8 is 54,000 Yen (~$505). However, the smartphone is scheduled to hit the Japanese market through Y! Mobile by late October. It can be bought in colors like Black, White, Orange and Blue. There is no word on the availability of the smartphone outside of Japan.

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At the beginning of this year, Sony had launched the Xperia XA2 and Xperia XA2 Ultra smartphones. Today, Sony has added another member to the XA2 family by announcing the Xperia XA2 Plus smartphone. Except for the inclusion of an 18:9 aspect ratio screen and 6 GB RAM, the XA2 Plus borrows its specs from XA2 and XA2 Ultra.

Sony Xperia XA2 Plus Specifications and Features

What’s interesting about the Xperia XA2 Plus is that it features the trendy aspect ratio of 18:9 but retains the same 6-inch IPS LCD screen that is available on the Xperia XA2 Ultra. The display is well-protected by Gorilla Glass 5. Also, like the Ultra model, the XA2 Plus is powered by Snapdragon 630 SoC.

The 32 GB storage model of the XA2 Plus has 4 GB of RAM whereas the 64 GB variant includes 6 GB of RAM. It includes support for microSD card through a hybrid SIM slot. The smartphone is preinstalled with Android 8.0 Oreo. It borrows the 23-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture that is available on the XA2 and XA2 Ultra models.

The XA2 Plus has a front-facing camera of 8-megapixel. The Ultra model is equipped with dual selfie cameras. A fingerprint scanner resides on the backside of the phone. It has a 3,580mAh battery that carries support for Quick Charge 3.0.

The connectivity features available on the Xperia XA2 Plus include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, USB-C and 3.5mm audio jack. The handset can be availed in color choices like Silver, Black, Gold and Green. The smartphone measures 157 x 74 x 89.6mm and it weighs 205 grams.

Read More: Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium finally up for pre-orders for $999.99 (U.S. only)

Sony is yet to reveal the pricing of the Xperia XA2 Plus. The smartphone is slated to release in August in Europe.

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There’s no doubt that Qualcomm is the king of mobile processors and the company has managed to penetrate all the three major segments in the market: high-end, mid-range, low-end. Mediatek has been giving tough competition to the US based chip maker in the budget and mid-range markets but even in these two segments, the company has managed to gain ground in recent times, all thanks to its efficient set of processors from the 600 and 400 series. However, sometimes it could be hard keeping a track of where each processor stands in the series. So, this article aims to improve your understanding of the processor that goes inside your smartphones, specifically ones from the Qualcomm Snapdragon series.

It was necessary to write this article because Qualcomm’s Snapdragon series naming isn’t as straightforward as you might think. For example, the newly announced Snapdragon 632 isn’t really better than the Snapdragon 630 (apart from its custom CPU cores advantage) that was announced way back in May 2017. Logically, considering the naming scheme, we would immediately assume that the SD632 is the better chipset but that’s not really the case. Similarly, the Snapdragon 450 chipset that was announced back in June 2017 is very similar to Snapdragon 625, despite being from a low-end 400 series.

Specifically, we will be taking a look at six processors for mid-range smartphones from Qualcomm, namely the Snapdragon 660, Snapdragon 636, Snapdragon 632, Snapdragon 630, Snapdragon 625, and also the Snapdragon 450.

We can divide these processors into further two sections for ease of understanding: Upper mid-range and mid-range.

Upper mid-range has two main chipsets: Snapdragon 660 and Snapdragon 636. I know many would argue that there’s the Snapdragon 710 chipset too, but with 10nm manufacturing node and custom Kryo 360 cores that are based on Cortex A75, we can no longer call it a mid-range chipset. At best, we could say it’s a premium mid-ranger but with such high-end specs, it’s more close to the 800 series flagships than the 600 series chipsets.

Coming back to the 600 series chipsets, in the mid-range segment, we can include four SoCs, namely, Snapdragon 630, Snapdragon 632, Snapdragon 625, and Snapdragon 450. Again, many could argue that the 450 is from the low-end series and doesn’t really deserve to be called as a mid-range processor. But for reasons mentioned below, I feel that the 450 is better placed in the mid-range segment rather than the budget series.

Now that we have placed these processors in their respective subsections, let’s take a look at each section in detail. First, let’s take a look at the upper mid-range processors.

Snapdragon 660 and Snapdragon 636 are two of the most powerful processors in the 600 series from Qualcomm. These 2017 processors are unique in the sense that they have custom cores, a first in the 600 series. Specifically, the Snapdragon 660 that was announced back in May 2017 was the first 600 series chip to use custom Kryo cores. Snapdragon 636 joined the lineup later in October. Given that they were going to power the best mid-rangers in the market, it made sense why Qualcomm would use custom cores in these two chipsets. However, this year, in June, Qualcomm made another entry in the lineup with the Snapdragon 632 and surprisingly, even this new chipset boasted eight custom kryo cores. Why surprising? Because, despite its 632 name, this particular chip is going to power the cheaper mid-rangers of 2018 and is better put as an upgrade to the Snapdragon 625 instead of the SD630. We’ll talk about these processors in detail in the next section but now, let’s come back to the two power packed processors of 600 series, the SD660 and SD636.

Snapdragon 660 & 636:

Snapdragon 660 and 636 are really very close brothers. From their names, many would assume that the SD632 or SD630 are closer to SD636 than SD660. But it’s the opposite case here. In fact, this is another example why Qualcomm needs to better their naming strategy. Personally, I would have called SD636 more like SD646 or something closer to SD660.

There are only four minor differences between the Snapdragon 660 vs Snapdragon 636.

1. Clock speed of Kryo 260G performance clusters (2.2GHz vs 1.8GHz)
2. GPU: Adreno 512 vs Adreno 509
3. LPDDR4 @ 1866MHz vs LPDDR4 @ 1333MHz
4. Display Support: QHD vs FHD+ (18:9) | External Support: 4K vs 1080p

Apart from these, the two processors share the same specs. So, both feature the same semi-custom Kryo 260 cores in a 4+4 cluster. There are 4 x Kryo Gold cores and 4 x Kryo Silver cores based on Cortex A73 and Cortex A53 respectively. Only the performance cores are clocked at different frequencies (2.2GHz vs 1.8GHz). It might also be worth mentioning that these two are manufactured on the 14nm LPP process, but then, all of the SoC’s considered in this article are based on 14nm manufacturing node.

There’s difference in the GPU as well. The Snapdragon 660 features the more powerful Adreno 512 vs 509 on the SD636. I couldn’t find a lot of details about the Adreno 509, but we know that it’s based on 14nm process like the 512 (and unlike the Adreno 510 which was based on 28nm). Despite being placed below the 510 in naming, in terms of performance, the Adreno 509 could be better. It’s also going to be more efficient. But Adreno 512 is definitely the better GPU of the two, with a appox. clock speed of 800MHz, with around 240 GFlops.

Another difference is the support for dual channel LPDDR4@1866MHz vs LPDDR4@1333MHz on SD660 vs SD636. However, both support RAM up to 8GB and eMMC as well as UFS storage.

Coming to the similarities, the core specs are the same for both the chips. So apart from the same Kryo 260 cores inside, you get the same X12 LTE modem with Cat. 13/ 12 support  (150Mbps uplink | 600Mbps downlink ) and 3 x 20MHz CA. There’s the Hexagon 680 DSP, Qualcomm’s Spectra 160 ISP with ClearSight technology, 24MP single camera support and 16MP dual camera support. The chip supports video capture and playback at up to 4K UHD @ 30fps resolution. Both the chips support Quick Charge 4.0 and machine learning frameworks like Tensorflow, caffe via Snapdragon Neural Processing Engine.

In short, you can call the Snapdragon 636 as the efficient (lite) version of the Snapdragon 660!

Snapdragon 630: 

Notice how I skipped SD632? It’s better suited with SD625 and SD450! Snapdragon 630 has most of the bells and whistles of Snapdragon 636 but it’s much slower because of its octa-core Cortex A53 cores. You really miss out on the A73 based performance cores here but it’s good for efficiency. So, if Snapdragon 636 was the lite version of SD660, then SD630 is kind of the lite and efficient version of the SD636.

SD630 features eight Cortex A53 cores with 4 x A53 @ 2.2GHz and 4 x A53 @ 1.8GHz. So, performance is just average but Adreno 508 is pretty decent and offers up to 30% graphics and enhanced gaming performance as compared to Adreno 506 inside the SD626. Apart from the significant decrease in CPU performance, rest of the specs are quite similar to the above two SoCs.

So the Snapdragon 630 supports Qualcomm’s Neural processing engine, X12 LTE with Cat. 13/ 12 downlink / uplink, 24MP single camera with Spectra 160 ISP (ClearSight tech), LPDDR4 @ 1333MHz with up to 8GB RAM support and eMMC / UFS storage support, 4K UHD capture and playback, and up to FHD+ display.

Note that dual camera support on the SD630 goes down to dual 13MP setup instead of dual 16MP on SD660 and SD636.

What makes SD630 closer to SD636 than SD632 or 625 is that it comes with support for Qualcomm’s Neural Processing Engine (for AI). Plus, you have Quick Charge 4.0 support too!

It is worth mentioning that SD660, SD636, and SD630 are the only three SoCs in the 600/400 series to support AI via NPE and Quick Charge 4.0. In terms of connectivity, these three support BL 5.0, and USB 3.1.

Snapdragon 632, Snapdragon 625, & Snapdragon 450:

Snapdragon 632 is really the star of the lower mid-range series. Qualcomm’s strategy was pretty simple: It took Snapdragon 625 and boosted its CPU performance with custom Kryo cores. That’s it! Everything else is the same!

So the SD632 has 4 x  Kryo 250 Gold performance (A73) cores at 1.8GHz and 4 x Kryo 250 Silver efficient (A53) at 1.8GHz instead of the 8 x Cortex A53 @ 2.0GHz cores on the SD625. Rest of the specs are exactly the same, including the Adreno 506 GPU. I have not really considered SD626 in this article because this particular chip hasn’t managed to get a lot of support from market players. Most companies are still opting for SD625 over 626 and the difference isn’t really significant.

We can actually bring Snapdragon 450 too in this comparison! The SD450 is basically a lower clocked version of the Snapdragon 625, with 8 x Cortex A53 cores at 1.8GHz instead of 2.0GHz. Another difference would be in video encoding and decoding resolutions. So, SD632, SD625 can encode and decode videos at 4K UHD @ 30 fps while the SD450 can only do it in FHD+ @ 60fps.

Now coming to their similarities in specs, SD632 vs SD625 vs SD450 have the following common features.

• Adreno 506 GPU (clock speeds may differ)
• Hexagon 546 DSP
• 24MP single cam | 13MP dual cam support
• FHD+ Display support
• X9 LTE Cat 13/ 7 (150Mbps uplink | 300Mbps downlink), 2 x 20MHz CA
• Quick Charge 3.0
• USB 3.0

In terms of Bluetooth connectivity, Snapdragon 632 did get an upgrade to the new 5.0 version. The SD625 and 450 chips support BL 4.1+ LE.

So, in this section, SD632 is the best chip, and SD625 could be called as the lite version of SD632 and SD450 as the lite version of SD625.

This article was not meant to be exhaustive. I may not have considered each and every minute differences between these chipsets but organising Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors based on their specifications instead of their names was essential. As you might have realised now, SD632 and SD450 are way more similar than what you might have thought before and Snapdragon 630 is quite closer to SD636 than SD625.

I personally believe its very important to understand the processors that power your smartphones and this article was meant to be a rough guideline of where each Snapdragon mid-range SoC stands in the entire lineup.

Please let me know your thoughts on this article as well as the Snapdragon chip lineup.

The post Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600 Series Mid-Range SoCs Explained appeared first on Gizmochina.

The sixth-generation Moto G series is set to launch on April 19. This year we will be getting three devices – the Moto G6 Play, the Moto G6, and the Moto G6 Plus. The Moto G6 Plus which is the most powerful of the three has been seen on Geekbench and it reveals a few specification details.

The device was benchmarked earlier today. It runs Android 8.0 Oreo, has 4GB of RAM, and is powered by the Snapdragon 660 (sdm660) processor.

If you have been paying attention to news of the Moto G6 Plus, then you may have read that it is powered by a Snapdragon 630 processor. But Geekbench says it is a Snapdragon 660 chipset, so what could be going on?

Don’t be confused. The Moto G6 Plus actually has a Snapdragon 630 processor and not SD 660 as shown in the benchmark results.

Back in 2017, when the HTC U11 Life was about to be released, Geekbench results showed that it was powered by a Snapdragon 660 processor. However, Roland Quandt said it is actually a Snapdragon 630 and that the benchmark site wrongly identifies it as a Snapdragon 660. When the phone did launch, it came with a Snapdragon 630 processor on board.

Remember, QC SD630 is wrongly identified as 660 quite often in Geekbench. So no, the HTC U11 life does not have a 660.

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) October 23, 2017

This is the same thing happening now. The Moto G6 Plus will launch with a Snapdragon 630 and it has also been confirmed by retail stores that already listed it ahead of launch.

The Geekbench listing also includes the phone’s benchmark scores. It scored 866 points in the single-core test and 4123 points in the multi-core test. The 6GB RAM variant should have a slightly higher score.

READ MORE: Motorola’s New Stereo Speaker Mod Is Now Available For $59.99

The Moto G6 Plus will come with a 5.93” FHD+ display, dual rear cameras (12MP+5MP), a 16MP selfie camera, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, and a 3,200mAh battery.

(Source, Via)

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Earlier today, the Xiaomi Mi 6X was seen on TENAA, but only a few specs were revealed. Now, the telecommunications agency has the full specs listed on its site.

The Xiaomi Mi 6X is listed on the site in two variants – M1804D2SE and M1804D2SC. Both share the same specs and are probably just network variants.

The phone will have a 5.99” display with a 2160 x 1080 resolution. This translates into an 18:9 aspect ratio, so thankfully there is no notch.

It is powered by a 2.2GHz octa-core processor. Our guess is this is the Snapdragon 630 or Snapdragon 660 as they are both clocked at 2.2GHz. There is 4GB or 6GB of RAM with 64GB and 128GB of storage respectively.

The Mi 6X has three cameras but TENAA only lists one on each side. The front facing camera is a 20MP sensor and one of the rear cameras is another 20MP sensor.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Launches the Four-Blade Smate Electric Shaver Priced at 269 Yuan (~$43)

Xiaomi will launch the phone with Android 8.1 Oreo and it will have a 2910mAh battery. It will come in black, rose gold, white, blue, red, pink, gray, and silver. That’s a lot of color variants if you ask me.

With the phone already listed on TENAA, a launch may be around the corner.

(Sources: 1, 2)

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Sharp has confirmed that it will be launching the Sharp Aquos S3 smartphone on March 28 through an unveil event in Vietnam. Today, several images of the Aquos S3 have surfaced on official Facebook Sharp Mobile Vietnam page and some of the Vietnamese publication before its official announcement to reveal its entire design.

The company has claimed that the Aquos S3 will be the world’s first 6-inch smartphone to feature a display with the highest screen-to-body ratio of 91 percent. As it can be seen in the images, the handset features a notch that houses a selfie camera, an earpiece and couple of sensors. The sides bezels are quite narrow, and the company’s branding can be seen on the slightly thicker bottom bezel.

The backside of the phone is equipped with dual rear cameras and the top-left corner. Below the dual camera is its dual-tone LED flash. Sharp’s logo is also present on the bottom side of the phone. The rear panel of the Aquos S3 is also equipped with a fingerprint scanner. The bottom edge of the phone features a USB-C port and an external speaker grille. The left edge of the phone features a SIM card slot while the right side is fitted with a volume rocker and a Power key.

Sharp claims that the Face ID of the Aquos S3 is very reliable as it can scan 1,024 facial features of the phone to unlock the device. The rear shell of the phone features four-sided 3D curved glass coupled with a metallic frame gives a premium appeal to it.

Here are some hands-on photos of the Sharp Aquos S3:

Here is an official teaser video of the Aquos S3:

https://www.facebook.com/sharpmobilevietnam/videos/810790172450869/

Here are some more images of the Aquos S3 available on the official Facebook page of Sharp Mobile Vietnam:

Read More: Sharp Aquos S3 Mini Launched with Notched Screen, Snapdragon 630, 6 GB RAM and 1,599 Yuan (`$252) Pricing

The TENAA listing of the Aquos S3 has already revealed its entire specs. It is equipped with a 5.99-inch display and it could be powered by the Snapdragon 660 or Snapdragon 630 chipset. The S3 may arrive in 64 GB and 128 GB storage options that are likely to feature 4 GB and 6 GB of RAM. The 13-megapixel + 12-megapixel dual camera with f/1.75 aperture and 2x optical zoom is present on the backside of the phone. The front panel of the phone is pegged to feature AI driven 16-megapixel that will be able to impressive portrait shots. It is expected to arrive with a 3,100mAh battery.

(source 1, 2, 3)

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During the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 that was heled in February, ASUS had launched the ZenFone 5Q (also known as ZenFone 5 Lite) alongside the high-end ZenFone 5 and 5Z smartphones. The Taiwanese manufacturer has started its pre-orders in the home country from March 15 with a pricing of NT$9,900 (~$339). The handset will be available for buying from March 22. Customers who pre-order will be able to ZenPower (10050) powerbank for free.

The pre-orders of the ZenFone 5Q (model number ZC600KL) has begun on various platforms such as the official website, ASUS Store PChome 24h Shopping, Yahoo! Shopping Mall, momo Shopping Mall, Shelfish Mall, Dongsen Shopping, FriDay Shopping Online Platform and offline stores of ASUS. It will be available in colors like Starry Black and Moonlight White at the beginning. As of this writing, there is no confirmation on when the Taiwanese manufacturer will be releasing the Rouge Red color edition of the ZenFone 5Q in Taiwan. Starting from March 1, the handset will be available through Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) in the country.

Unlike the ZenFone 5 and 5Z smartphones that feature 6.2-inch notched display, the ZenFone 5Q is fitted with a smaller display of 6 inches that does not feature a notch. The dual front-facing cameras of the ZenFone 5Q include the 20-megapixel Sony IMX376 sensor that offers an 85.5-degree field of view as the main sensor. The secondary sensor that accompanies it offers 120-degree field of view.

The dual rear cameras of the ZenFone 5Q features a 16-megapixel primary sensor with 80-degree field of view and the same secondary sensor that resides at the front. The Snapdragon 630 chipset is present under the hood of the ZenFone 5Q. The 5Q features 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of native storage. For more storage, it includes a microSD card.

The handset is running on ZenUI 5.0 flavored Android 8.0 Oreo. It is equipped with a 3,300mAh battery. The other features of the 5Q are rear-mounted fingerprint reader, facial recognition, microUSB, NFC, GPS, Bluetooth, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi and dual-SIM support.

The Taiwanese company is planning to launch the Snapdragon 636 powered ZenFone 5 upper mid-range handset and Snapdragon 845 SoC driven ZenFone 5Z flagship phone in the second quarter of this year. The 5Z may hit the Taiwanese market in June with a pricing of NT$15,000 (~$513). It is an enticing price for a Snapdragon 845 powered flagship smartphone that features an impressive design.

Read More: ASUS Zenfone 5 Max With Snapdragon 660 and 4GB RAM Spotted On Geekbench

ASUS is aiming to release the ZenFone 5 series in over 10 markets across the world in Q3 this year. The Taiwanese company expects that its smartphone division will start making profits from the same quarter.

(source)

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Lenovo-owned Motorola is expected to soon announce the Moto G6, Moto G6 Plus and Moto G6 Play. The rumor mill has already revealed plenty of information on the specs of these phones. Leaked renders of the Moto G6 family members have also surfaced in the recent past. Today, well-known leakster Evan Blass has revealed the codenames of the Moto G6 series phones.

According to Blass, the Moto G6, G6 Plus and G6 Play are respectively codenamed as Blaine, Teller and Ashley. Just as the Moto G5 and G5 Plus phones were unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February last year, it is speculated that the Moto G6 series may get announced at MWC 2018 in the next week. As of this writing, Motorola is yet to confirm on the launch event for the Moto G6 series phones.

Leaked information has revealed that the Moto G6 will be featuring a 5.93-inch display that will supporting FHD+ resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio. The Snapdragon 450 chipset may power the phone. The 32 GB and 64 GB models of the phone may feature 3 GB and 4 GB of RAM. It is expected to feature a 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual camera setup and a front-facing camera of 16-megapixel. It is likely to feature a 3,000mAh battery and a rear-mounted fingerprint reader. It is pegged to cost R. 15,000 (~$231). It may be available in colors like Rose Gold, Black and Silver.

The advanced Moto G6 Plus is also rumored to house an 18:9 aspect ratio supporting FHD+ display of 5.93 inches. The Snapdragon 630 chipset may power the handset.  It may arrive in RAM variants like 3 GB, 4 GB and 6 GB and storage options like 32 GB and 64 GB.  It is expected to feature 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual camera setup and aa selfie snapper of 16-megapixel. It could be equipped with 3,200mAh battery and front-mounted fingerprint scanner. It is expected to hit the market with a pricing of Rs. 17,000 (~$262). Dark Teal, Black and Silver could be its color variants.

Read More: Key Features of Motorola’s 2018 Smartphones Leaked; 2018 Moto C, C Plus May Not Launch This Year

The Moto G6 Play is expected to arrive as an entry-level model featuring 5.7-inch 16:9 aspect ratio screen, Snapdragon 430 chipset, 3 GB of RAM, front-mounted fingerprint scanner and 4,000 mAh battery. It may cost around Rs. 12,000 (~185). The G6 Play may arrive in color options Dark Charcoal, Deep Blue and Gold.

(source)

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Xiaomi is heavily pegged to launch the Redmi Note 5 on Feb. 14 as its first smartphone in India this year. Whether it is an entirely new device or a rebranded Redmi 5 or Redmi 5 Plus will be known on Wednesday. An alleged render of the Redmi Note 5 has appeared today that suggests it could be a different device from Redmi 5 and 5 Plus.

The below render shows that the Redmi Note 5 will be coming with an elongated display that may offer an aspect ratio of 18:9. The upper and lower bezels are also slim compared to predecessor models.

The back panel of the phone features dual rear cameras aligned vertically. Below it is the LED flash and a fingerprint scanner. The upper and lower antenna lines are also very visible. The left side of the phone seems to feature the volume rocker and power key.

The Redmi Note 5 is expected to feature a Full HD+ resolution screen of 5.99 inches. The Snapdragon 636 or 630 chipset is speculated to power the handset. The SoC is speculated to be supported by 4 GB of RAM. It may arrive in two inbuilt storage choices of 32 GB and 64 GB.

A dual camera setup featuring a 16-megapixel sensor and a 5-megapixel sensor is expected to reside on the rear of the phone. It may feature an 8-megapixel selfie snapper. It may include a huge battery of 4,100mAh capacity and it may come pre-installed with MIUI 9 flavored Android Nougat.

Read More: Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Concept Renders Show An Amazing Screen To Body Ratio

The images shown above are just renders and not real photos of the Redmi Note 5. The exact information on the smartphone will be confirmed on Wednesday. It has been revealed that the upcoming Redmi phone will be exclusively available through Flipkart in India.

What do you think about the above renders of the alleged Redmi Note 5? Do you think the real device will sport the same look? Share us your views by posting your comments below.

(source)

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The rumor mill is speculating that Xiaomi will be unleashing the Mi 7 flagship at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 event in the next month. The flagship phone is speculated to be available for buying in March. However, latest information claims that the Chinese manufacturer has planned to launch the highly anticipated Redmi Note 5 before the Xiaomi Mi 7. This indicates that the Redmi Note 5 may get unveiled by the end of February.

Xiaomi is already aware of the fact that the Redmi Note 5 will be met with huge demand. Hence, it is reportedly stocking as many units as possible of the upcoming the budget phablet. The Xiaomi MEE7S and MET7S devices that have recently received 3C approval in China are rumored to get official as the two variants of the RedmI Note 5. The reason behind it is that the similar appearing model numbers such as Xiaomi MEE7 and MET7 belong to the two variants of the Redmi 5 Plus.

Read More:Alleged Xiaomi Mi 6X Real Images Leaked; Reveals 18:9 Display, iPhone X-Like Camera

Redmi Note 5 Specifications and Pricing

The Redmi Note 5 is speculated to feature an integrated metallic chassis with nano-injection molding antenna design. It is rumored to house a 5.99-inch screen that will produce 18:9 aspect ratio. Like the Redmi 5 Plus, it is likely to support FHD+ resolution.

The Redmi Note 5 could be the first Redmi Note series phone to feature dual camera setup that is speculated to include a 16-megapixel primary sensor that will be coupled with a 5-megapixel sensor. For shooting selfies, it will be equipped with an 8-megapixel selfie camera. The MIUI 9 flavored Android Nougat OS will be available pre-installed on the Redmi Note 5. The smartphone will also carry support for facial recognition.

The base model of the Redmi Note 5 featuring 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage is rumored to be powered by Snapdragon 630. The higher model that will be driven by Snapdragon 636 chipset is expected to feature 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. Both the variants are rumored to be respectively priced at 1,499 Yuan (~$237) and 1,799 Yuan (~$284).

(source)

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In 2016, Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 625, a SoC which has become the most loved one when it comes to midrange smartphones sold at an affordable price. The reason for its success is the perfect combination of power and efficiency, which helped this processor provide good performance with an incredibly low energy consumption. This year, Qualcomm launched its successor (after launching SD626, an overclocked variant with a more advanced Bluetooth version): Snapdragon 630. It is an improved version of the older SoC. In this comparison, we will examine the main differences between Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 vs 625.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 vs 625

An important difference between Snapdragon 630 vs 625 is the clock frequency: 2.2 GHz vs 2 GHz. According to Qualcomm, Snapdragon 630 offers up to 30 percent higher performance than SD626, so it should be more than 30 percent better than SD625 in terms of performance. The GPUs are also different and the Adreno 508 found in SD630 offers up to 30 percent more performance than Adreno 506 too. At a first glance, it seems there is not much difference, but as you see it is not so. Snapdragon 630 also has more advanced connectivity options. Its Snapdragon X12 modem has 2x higher download speed and more advanced Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

While in terms of camera and display there are no significant differences (Snapdragon 630 remains slightly better), the fast charging technology is way better. Quick Charge 4 has a charging speed which can be up to 15 percent faster than Quick Charge 3.0, and it is also a safer technology. Snapdragon 630 is also more power efficient than its opponent. It’s worth noting that not every aspect of each SoC may be supported on the phones which have been equipped with these processors. For example, a phone may be equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 but it may not have the support to Quick Charge 4.0 because the company has decided to remove it or to opt for its own fast charging technology.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 vs 625

PROs of Snapdragon 630

• Higher performance
• Better connectivity
• Faster battery charging
• Safer and efficient

CONS

• Higher price

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The dust has barely settled following the launch of the N6 Pro and 360 Mobiles has already announced a launch date for a new device.

The event is scheduled for December 12 and will hold in Beijing. While 360 Mobiles hasn’t disclosed the device launching, the guess is that it is the N6. Since there is an N6 Pro, it only makes sense that there is a non-pro version.

Specification details of the phone are unknown except for the processor. Just before revealing the launch date today, 360 Mobiles uploaded a picture of the Snapdragon 630 processor hinting us at what chip will grace the phone. The image also lists the features of the mobile platform. This is

The N6 Pro launched with the Snapdragon 660 mobile platform and is one of the cheapest in the market. Since the N6 is a less powerful variant, the Snapdragon 630 isn’t a bad choice.

READ MORE: 360 Mobiles Files Application To Trademark “Flagship Device”

Apart from the processor, another strong feature of the phone will be its battery life judging from the text that accompanied the poster reveal. The 360 N6 Pro packs a 4050mAh battery. 360 Mobiles may bump it up for the N6 or maybe even leave it at that but since the SD630 is an improvement over the SD625, battery life should be better too.

(Via)

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A mysterious Sony smartphone with model number Sony H4133 has appeared on GFXBench benchmarking site. It reminds us of another unreleased Sony phone with similar model number of Sony H4233 that had surfaced on the same benchmarking platform in September. Since these smartphones carry similar specs, the newly surfaced Sony H4133 could be a lower end edition of the Sony H4233 smartphone.

The Sony H4133 has a 5.2-inch display that supports full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The presence of Adreno 508 graphics indicates that the smartphone is powered by the Snapdragon 630 chipset. It is the same chipset that is found under the hood of other phones like Motorola Moto X4, Nokia 7 and HTC U11 Life. The SoC is aided by 3 GB of RAM and it has an internal storage of 32 GB.

The back camera of Sony H4133 is of 21-megapixel and it carries support for 4K video shooting. Its frontside could be sporting an 8-megapixel snapper. The smartphone comes preloaded with Android 8.0 Oreo.

The above snapshots show that the UAProf of the Sony 4133 also reveals that it features a FHD display and it is loaded with Android 8.0 Oreo. The device also carries support for Bluetooth.

Read More: H3213 Avenger Seen on GFXBench, May Be Sony’s First Dual Camera Smartphone

The Sony H4233 smartphone that was spotted two months ago features 6-inch FHD display and it is also powered by Snapdragon 630. It has 4 GB of RAM and a native storage of 64 GB. It is also running on Android 8.0 Oreo and features a 21-megapixel rear camera and a 16-megapixel front-facing camera.

The model numbers of the Sony smartphones that released this year had “G” in their model number. Hence, the Sony H4133 phone could be arriving next year as it has “H” in its model number. The Sony H4233 and H4133 mid-range smartphones may get unveiled during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) event in 2018.

(source 1, 2)

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Update: Roland Quandt had revealed the entire specs of the HTC U11 Life earlier this week. The following tweet from the tipster reveals that the Snapdragon 630 is incorrectly mentioned as Snapdragon 660 on Geekbench. Hence, the U11 Life will arrive with Snapdragon 630.

Remember, QC SD630 is wrongly identified as 660 quite often in Geekbench. So no, the HTC U11 life does not have a 660.

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) October 23, 2017

Even though the rumor mill predicted that the HTC U11+ would be launching on Nov. 2, a recent report has revealed that the Taiwanese company would be debuting the U11 Life smartphone on the said date. The entire specs of the HTC U11 Life have been already revealed by the rumor mill. Previous reports have claimed that the Snapdragon 630 will be present inside the smartphone, but its Geekbench listing states that it will be fueled by Snapdragon 660.

The Geekbench listing of the HTC U11 Life show that it is powered by “sdm660” octa-core processor by Qualcomm that has a clocking speed of 2.21 GHz. It means that the Snapdragon 660 is present under the hood of the phone, instead of SD 630 chipset that the rumors have been claiming.

Read More: HTC 2Q4D200 Hits TENAA With 5.5-inch Display and 4GB RAM/6GB RAM Variants

On Geekbench’s single-core test, it has scored 858 points and on multi-core test, it has scored 4,136 points. It has 3 GB of RAM onboard. It is running on Android 7.1.1 Nougat which also contradicts the claims that it would be coming with Android 8.0 Oreo preinstalled.

Some rumors have claimed that there could be two versions of the phone. The HTC U11 Life Android One edition could be the first Android Oreo enabled Android One smartphone that come with Snapdragon 630 chipset. The HTC U11 Life that does not belong to the Android One program may come powered with Snapdragon 660 chipset.

The HTC U11 Life is expected to arrive with a 5.2-inch FHD display, 16-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 16-megapixxel front-facing camera and a 2600mAh battery. It is expected to sport squeezable frame like HTC U11. It is expected to arrive with a pricing of around 400 euros (`$470). More details on the U11 Life is expected to surface as we head towards its launch.

(source)

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In May, Qualcomm had announced the Snapdragon 630 and Snapdragon 660 chipsets for powering mid-range smartphones. The U.S. based chip-making company has now announced the Snapdragon 636 SoC as an enhanced version of the SD 630 chip.

There are not many smartphones that are powered by the Snapdragon 630 chipset. Some of the phones that feature it include Motorola Moto X4, Asus ZenFone 4 and Sharp Aquos S2. What makes the new SD 636 chip interesting is that it includes Kryo ARM cores. It features the same Kryo 260 cores that can be found in Snapdragon 660 SoC. The inclusion of Kryo 260 cores allows the Snapdragon 636 to deliver 40 percent better performance than the SD 630 which includes generic ARM Cortex cores.

Apart from better performance, the SD 636 can deliver 10 percent better gaming and web browsing performance as it features an improved Adreno graphics. These days many phone makers are releasing smartphones with 18:9 display. Since the SD 636 carries support for it, we may soon see even budget phones with 18:9 screens. The addition of Assertive Display optimizes to display for all lighting conditions.

Read More: Snapdragon 855 Rumors: Qualcomm Already Working on 7nm Chipset that is Codenamed as Hana V1.0

Snapdragon 636 Specifications

The Snapdragon 636 is a 64-bit octa-core chipset that features eight cores of Kryo 260 that clocks at 1.8 GHz. It also includes Adreno 509 graphics. It supports up to 8 GB dual-channel LPDDR4 RAM. The Wi-Fi standards supported by this chipset include 802.11ac Wave, 802.11n, and 802.11a/b/g.

It is equipped with Snapdragon X12 LTE modem that offers up to 600 Mbps of download speeds and 150 Mbps of upload speeds. With Spectra 160 ISP onboard that brings support for 24-megapixel cameras along with features like 4K video shooting at 30 fps, zero shutter lag, smooth zooming and fast auto-focusing.

The Snapdragon 636 chipset powered smartphones can feature 18:9 displays that support FHD+ resolution. It also includes support for Quick Charge 4 and Bluetooth 5.0. Other features of this 14nm chipset include NFC, audio capabilities like aptX and Aqstic, and up to 3.1 USB. Other details on its specifications are available in the source link.

The newly announced SD 636 is pin and software-compatible with the existing SD 660 and 630 chipsets. It means that smartphone OEMs that are already using these chipsets can seamlessly add SD 636 to their devices. The shipments of the Snapdragon 636 will begin in November.

(source)

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Sony released a couple of new phones at IFA early this month. In spite of that, it seems it still has more planned before the year runs out. One of them just showed up on GFXBench as the Sony H4233 and it packs some pretty impressive specs.

The Sony H4233 sits in the phablet category with its 6-inch Full HD display. There is a Snapdragon 630 mobile platform powering it alongside an Adreno 508 GPU. It has 4GB of RAM and storage is 64GB and should probably be expandable.

The H4233 takes things further with its cameras. There is a 21MP sensor on the rear that can shoot in 4K. The front camera is a 16MP sensor and can also record 4K videos.

The device runs Android 8.0.0 and has NFC. Sony has also included a bunch of sensors.

READ MORE: Sony Showcases The Xperia XZ1 & XZ1 Compact Rocking SD 835 & Android Oreo

The Sony H4233 does look like an interesting mid-range phone but Sony will definitely not give it a mid-range price. But if you don’t like the Xperia XA1 Ultra, you may want to consider this. Let’s hope it has a battery bigger than 2700mAh.

(Source, via)

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The full-screen Sharp Aquos S2 was unveiled today at an event in China. The event also marked the manufacturer’s official return to the world’s most populous nation.

The Aquos line is known for its bezel-less design and the S2 doesn’t deviate from it. However, it takes it up a notch with a familiar design. The bezel-less display of the Aquos S2 is 5.5-inch in size but it has a cut-out at the top, just like the Essential PH-1, for a front facing camera and sensors. The top corners are also diagonals instead of rounded or squared-corners.

The S2 does not only look attractive from the front, the rear is a stunner too. The back features a 5-surface single-piece 3D glass that wraps around the cameras, entire back and edges. This means there are no gaps and seams on the back of the device.

Aquos S2 Specs

The Aquos S2 sports a 5.5-inch display but the bezel-less design gives it a 4.9-inch look and a screen-to-body ratio of 87.5%. The S2 comes in two versions:

• Snapdragon 660 model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage
• Snapdragon 630 model with 4GB RAM + 64GB storage.

The S2 is the first smartphone to feature the Snapdragon 630 processor. The 14nm processor features 8 cortex-A53 cores and is clocked at 2.2GHz. It has support for Bluetooth 5.0, dual cameras and Cat. 12 LTE. The Snapdragon 630 is expected to be the successor to the Snapdragon 625.

Sharp has put two cameras on the rear of the S2 and have settled for a vertical design similar to the one seen in the iPhone 8 leaks. The cameras are a combination of an 8MP sensor and a 12MP sensor with dual-pixel technology and ability to shoot photos with the bokeh effect. The front camera is an 8MP sensor.

The S2 has a fingerprint scanner embedded underneath a home button up front. It also has NFC, so it should support Android Pay. There is a dual SIM slot that fits 2 nano SIM cards or one SIM and a microSD card (128GB max). A USB type-C port sits in the middle of two speaker grilles at the bottom. Battery capacity is 3020mAh.

Sadly the Aquos S2 doesn’t have an audio jack but it there is a Type-C audio cable adapter in the box along with a case.

The Aquos S2 will ship with  a new UI called Smile UX which has a smart assistant built into it.

Aquos S2 Price

The Aquos S2 will be available in crystal black, glazed white, blue, and mint green. The Snapdragon 660 model will sell for ¥3499 ($522) and the Snapdragon 630 version will be priced at ¥2799 ($418). However, buying the SD630 model on Jingdong will see you save ¥300 ($45). Sales will begin on August 14 at exactly 10:00 AM.

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The Sharp Aquos S2 has just been launched and it came out as the first smartphone to feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 630 processor. If you think the SD 630 isn’t a chip to reckon with, you better think again. AnTuTu has released the benchmark score of the Snapdragon 630 SoC and it shows the processor has the potential of being a powerful mid-range chip.

AnTuTu didn’t share the details of the phone on which the chip ran but in its Weibo post, it revealed that the Qualcomm chip scored an average of 69,000 points. Strikingly, this figure dwarfs the score of MediaTek’s latest mid-range Helio P25 chip which averages around 66,500 points on AnTuTu as seen on the Ulefone T1’s benchmark score.

Read More: Moto X4 New Leaks Reveal Snapdragon 630, 8MP+12MP Dual Rear Cameras, Smaller Battery

Specs wise, the Snapdragon 630 is a 14nm chipset has four cores of Cortex A53 working at 2.2 GHz whereas the remaining four cores of Cortex A53 function at 1.8 GHz. Its Adreno 508 graphics support Vulkan API. The Snapdragon 630 carries support for a maximum screen resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels. It offers features like Hexagon 680 DSP All-Ways Aware Hub, dual 14-bit Spectra 160 ISP with support for up 24-megapixel camera, 4K UHD video recording at 30 fps and full HD video shooting at 120 fps, 8 GB LPDDR4 RAM, memory speeds of 1333 MHz, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C 3.1, Snapdragon X12 LTE modem with 600 Mbps downlink speeds and 150 Mbps and enhanced chips for machine learning, and Quick Charge 4.0.

(source)

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Last week, Sharp’s General Manager of mobile phone business unit in China posted a photo of the manufacturer’s yet-to-be released bezel-less smartphone. Apart from the device itself sharing similarities to the Essential PH-1, the entire image is also strikingly similar to the very first image of the Essential phone released to the public. A new image of the phone has surfaced and it wears an entirely different look.

Posted by the Vice President of Foxconn Technology Group, Luo Zhongsheng, the image shows several units of the phone undergoing testing in the factory.

Unlike the first image which has a nearly bezel design and looks like the Essential PH-1, the new device has moderately-sized bezels. The top bezel is significantly smaller than what you will find on most phones. The thickness can even be compared to that of the Samsung Galaxy S8.

The side bezels are okay but we are concerned about the lower bezel. From the image, we can see Sharp is using on-screen buttons but there is a thick black bar at the base which is part of the screen. That is a waste of space and defeats the purpose of the on-screen buttons. If it is going to be there permanently, why then is the lower bezel that thick?

READ MORE: Sharp FS8016’s Back Panel with Dual Rear Cameras in Multiple Colors Allegedly Appears

We can’t tell if the phone has its fingerprint scanner in front or at the back, so we won’t pass a final judgement on the design.

The phone is also reported to come with a Snapdragon 630 and not a Snapdragon 660 processor. Release date is still unknown.

(Source)

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Lenovo’s Motorola brand has planned a flurry of smartphone releases this year and one of the models that are likely coming is the Moto X4. The model has appeared in a couple of leaks recently, including its likely image. We have also seen a leak showcasing its specifications and that leak has got some sort of confirmation. A Motorola model has appeared on GFXBench and is suspected to be the Moto X4.

The Moto model appeared with the model number XT1789 and presents with a 5-inch display having a FullHD resolution (1980 x 1080pixels). The GFXBench data also shows the Moto X4 will come packing Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS which may likely feature some customisation in the China version, ZUI perhaps. The device is powered by a 2.2GHz Octa-core Qualcomm chip believed to be the Snapdragon 630 chip due to the presence of an Adreno 508 GPU.

In addition, the Moto X4 features 3GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage. The device is also listed with a 12 MP rear-facing camera with LED flash and a 16MP front-facing selfie shooter. A previous leak had tipped the X4 as coming with a dual camera setup and that was also captured in the leaked image. GFXBench app doesn’t detect dual camera setup so, it shouldn’t be surprising that only one of the cameras was captured. The device will likely have a 12 MP + 8 MP dual camera setup.

Read More: Moto Z2 Force, Moto X4 and Moto G5S+ Pricing Leaked as their Release Dates Draw Near

GFXBench doesn’t reveal too many details about the specs but other details revealed about the Moto X4 includes that the device will feature an IP68 certified body and a front-mounted fingerprint reader which will be versatile enough to recognize gestures for on-screen navigations. The smartphone is also detailed to be the first non-Google phone that would support Project Fi MVNO. This feature will allow the phone to switch between different networks like Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular networks and Wi-Fi hotspots seamlessly. There is also NFC on board as listed on the GFXBench data which makes contactless payment services possible. The Moto X4 is tipped as coming in the fourth quarter of the year which is still a little time away but Lenovo could spring up a surprise before then.

(source)

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In its bid to grab a share of the market from Qualcomm, MediaTek is said to be working on a number of processors which are mostly mid-range chips. MediaTek gets most of its patronage from OEM in the budget and mid-range category as the company is nearly absent in the flagship category. Earlier on, the company was revealed to be working on an Helio P23 chip. The company is now said to also be working on an Helio P30 chip which would soon hit the market.

Media reports from Taiwan, MediaTek’s base, hints that the chip maker is planning to quickly push a god number of its chip into the market in order to continue to enjoy a good patronage and curtail the rise of the mid-range Snapdragon 630 and 660 chip announced by Qualcomm recently. The reports also quoted MediaTek’s chairman Xie Qingjiang as stating recently that the company would soon launch the P30 chip. The Helio P30 is said to be built on the 12nm TSMC manufacturing process. It is an octa-core processor composed of four Cortex-A72 cores clocked at 2GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.5GHz. The processor is expected to support LPDDR4 memory standard and UFS 2.0 flash memory and up to 25MP camera sensor.

Read More: Mediatek’s Helio P23 Chip Targeted At OPPO, Vivo & Gionee Smartphones – Analyst

Furthermore, the MediaTek Helio P30 will come with support for Cat. 10 LTE band with a downlink rate of up to 600Mbps. There are rumors that the first OEM that would feature the Helio P30 is Meizu. This rumor is further buttressed by the supposed Meizu product schedule that leaked earlier this year. The schedule lists Meizu as launching the MX7 in September this year with an Helio P30 chip. The P30 is also said to have a unit price lower than that of the SD 630/ 660.

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In 2016, several mid-range smartphones were powered by Snapdragon 652 and Snapdragon 625 chipsets. Earlier today, Qualcomm unveiled their upgraded versions such as Snapdragon 660 and Snapdragon 630 chipsets that not only offers better performance but also promises faster LTE connectivity and enhanced battery life.

Snapdragon 660

The Snapdragon 660 is a 14nm chipset that includes four cores of Kryo 260 working at 2.2 GHz and another four cores of Kryo 260 functioning at 1.8 GHz. Qualcomm has not revealed any information on what constitutes the Kryo 260 cores, but it is likely that the company may have built it using ARM Cortex Technology that it used for Kryo 280 present in Snapdragon 835 chipset for flagship phones.

It features Adreno 512 graphics with Vulkan API support. According to Qualcomm, the CPU of the Snapdragon 660 offers 20 percent better performance and its GPU offers 30 percent better graphics performance than the Snapdragon 653 chipset.

The maximum resolution supported by the chipset is 2,560 x 1,600 pixels. It supports4K Ultra HD video shooting at 30 fps and full HD video shooting at 120 fps. The Snapdragon X12 LTE modem offers a maximum download speed of up to 600 Mbps and upload speeds of 150 Mbps. The Snapdragon 660 chipset includes Hexagon 680 DSP All-Ways Aware Hub, dual 14-bit Spectra 160 ISP with support for up to 24-megapixel camera, up to 8 GB LPDDR4 RAM, memory speeds of 1866 MHz, Bluetooth 5, USB Type-C 3.1, 2 x 2 MIMO Wi-Fi, and Quick Charge 4.0.

Snapdragon 630

The Snapdragon 630 is not so powerful in comparison to SD 660. The 14nm chipset has four cores of Cortex A53 working at 2.2 GHz whereas the remaining four cores of Cortex A53 function at 1.8 GHz. Its Adreno 508 graphics support Vulkan API.

Read More: Xiaomi Mi 6 Lite Version With Snapdragon 660 Chip Rumored As Coming!(UPDATED)

The Snapdragon 630 carries support for a maximum screen resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels. It offers features like Hexagon 680 DSP All-Ways Aware Hub, dual 14-bit Spectra 160 ISP with support for up 24-megapixel camera, 4K UHD video recording at 30 fps and full HD video shooting at 120 fps, 8 GB LPDDR4 RAM, memory speeds of 1333 MHz, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C 3.1, Snapdragon X12 LTE modem with 600 Mbps downlink speeds and 150 Mbps and enhanced chips for machine learning, and Quick Charge 4.0

Also, both chipsets have been built to deliver improved battery performance. For example, while using location based services, users can experience around 50 to 75 percent lower consumption of battery. Even the power consumption during downloading on Wi-Fi has been reduced by 60 percent on Snapdragon 660.

The Snapdragon 660 and 630 chipsets have been manufactured to bring flagship-like performance on affordable smartphones. Qualcomm has also started shipping the Snapdragon 660 SoC whereas the Snapdragon 660 shipments will start at the end of this month. Smartphones running on these new chipsets are expected to get announced beginning from June and these devices can be made available for buying by the third quarter of this year. Some of the smartphones that are rumored to be powered by Snapdragon 660 include OPPO R11, Samsung Galaxy C10, Sony Xperia X Ultra, Vivo X9s Plus, Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2, Xiaomi Mi Max 2, and Nokia 7/8.

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Qualcomm will be holding a launch event on May 9 in Beijing, China to unveil the new Snapdragon 660 chipset. The new chipset will be arriving as a successor for Snapdragon 652/653 chipset. However, speculations are rife that the launch event will also unveil two other Snapdragon chipsets.

Roland Quandt, a reliable leakster, has released a tweet that hints the during the launch of Snapdragon 660, the U.S. based chip maker will also unveil other chipsets like Snapdragon 630 and Snapdragon 635 that are speculated to power lower-end smartphones in the near future.

I think you'll like what Qualcomm wants to show you on May 8/9, if you liked what they did with the SD65x and SD625.

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) May 4, 2017

Read More: Snapdragon 660 launching in China on May 9, Cheaper Alternative to SD835

It was reported in February that the Snapdragon 630 and 635 chipsets are enhanced versions of Snapdragon 625. Both are rumored to feature octa-core processors and support LPDDR3 RAM, Cat. 7 LTE modem, Adreno 506 GPU or above, and processing speed of around 2.0-2.2 GHz.

As far as Snapdragon 660 chipset is concerned, it is expected to power upcoming midrange smartphones. Like the more potent Snapdragon 835, the Snapdragon 660 SoC is speculated to come with an octa-core CPU with Kyro 280 cores. However, the difference is that the Snapdragon 835 is built with 10nm process whereas the Snapdragon 660 is manufactured with 14nm process. Also, instead of the Adreno 540 GPU on the SD 835, the upcoming SD 660 has a weaker Adreno 512 graphics.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 is expected to come with quad cores of Cortex A73 working at 2.2 GHz and quad cores of Cortex A53 functioning at 1.9 GHz. Rumors have it that it features two-channel LPDDR4X RAM modules that work at 1866 MHz and also carries support for UFS 2.1 storage. It is also speculated to support Quick Charge 4.0. For faster data connectivity, it is expected to come with X10 LTE modem.

The Snapdragon 660 chipset is speculated to fuel several smartphones. Some of them include the OPPO R11, Sony Xperia X Ultra, Nokia 7/8, Xiaomi Mi Max 2, Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2, Vivo X9s Plus and upcoming Samsung Galaxy C series phone. The mass production of the chipset is rumored to start within this quarter and the smartphones running on it are expected to launch in the second half of the year.

(source|via)

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Both the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 and Snapdragon 635 chips are said to be enhanced versions of the highly efficient Snapdragon 625 chipset which Xiaomi recently announced would feature on its Redmi Note 4X smartphone. The SD 625 is known to have very efficient power management and heat reduction such that battery life is extended. Thus, the  Snapdragon 630 and Snapdragon 635 are expected to have such features and even more.

According to the leak, both mid-range chips would use eight Cortex-A53 cores in an octa-core arrangement. Some would have preferred the superior Cortex-A73 cores but then, it’s just a rumor until Qualcomm goes official with it. We don’t have further details of both rumored SoCs but since they are upgrades of the SD 625, we expect them to come with features such as support for LPDDR3 memory, LTE Cat. 7 baseband and a clock frequency of 2.0 – 2.2GHz as well as the Adreno 506 GPU or higher. The SD 625 came with these features, so an upgraded version would pack a more strengthened lineup.

Related: Qualcomm & Leadcore Said To Join Forces To Make Low-End Chips: MediaTek in trouble?

In addition, Qualcomm is also said to be working on a Snapdragon 660 chip which would be manufactured using Samsung 14nm LPP process and have an octa-core arrangement which may be a combination of the Cortex-A73 and A53 cores. The SD 660 is said to come with the Adreno 512 GPU and support dual-channel LPDDR4X-1866 memory, UFS 2.1 storage, up to 24MP camera, LTE Cat. 10 and three carrier aggregation. The rumor added that OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi will feature the chip in their upcoming smartphones. The Snapdragon 660 is expected to be available in September.

(source)

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