So Qualcomm held a “Snapdragon for India” event a few hours ago and they said a lot of things. The entire gist of the whole thing is that Qualcomm wants to become more relevant in India by connecting with smartphone OEMs, software developers, YouTubers et al. I tried to watch the whole thing but it was 2 hours plus and I lost interest after 5 mins and began to skip through. The key thing that I picked out of the whole show was the release of the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2.
This SoC has been praised and trashed by a lot of Indians. From Anandtech to GSMArena, some people have mostly been very critical of this SoC and I am rather surprised. That’s what I am here to share with us today. This new SoC.
The Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 is actually not an improvement on the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 but it is rather a slimmed down down of the Snapdragon 695. This is why a lot of people are very mad at this SoC but Qualcomm’s officials stated that they were targeting the $100 segment of the lower mid-range with this SoC.
For those of us who remember, think of it as the Snapdragon 625 of the modern era. That’s what Qualcomm is targeting with this SoC.
Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 Key Specs
The key specs of the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 include:
- Process: 4nm
- CPU: 2x Cortex-A78 (2.0GHz) + 6x Cortex-A55 (1.8GHz)
- GPU: unnamed Adreno (possibly 618)
- RAM: LPDDR4x (2,133MHz)
- Storage: UFS 3.1
- Display: Up to FHD+ @ 90Hz
- ISP: Spectra Dual (12-bit)
- Camera: Up to 84MP, up to 32MP Zero Shutter Lag
- Video: up to 1080p @ 60fps
- Modem: Snapdragon X modem (up to 1Gbps download)
- Bluetooth: 5.1
- WiFi: 5
- USB: 3.2 Gen 1
- Charge: Quick Charge 4+
Performance
Most of the trending lower mid-range SoCs like the Helio G99 or Dimensity 6080 use 2x Cortex-A76. This one is going to be using 2x Cortex A78. That’s going to be an impressive power boost for the lower mid-range segment.
Cortex A78 CPUs are still very capable and are still on par with the newer Cortex A710 depending on clock speed. So it is a welcome development. The GPU however is unnamed for now. I am thinking it’s very likely to be an Adreno 618 or 619. It could be lower tho.
This should provide upper mid-range performance. Now this level of performance for what is supposed to be a low end SoC is very exciting.
RAM and Storage
This is one area that many people have used to attack this SoC. This is because most of the latest SoCs use LPDDR5, this one is downgraded to a LPDDR4X from last gen. The storage is UFS 3.1 which is better than UFS 2.2.
Display, Camera and Video
This one supports FHD displays at 90Hz refresh rate and supports a maximum of 84MP cameras. This is a bit surprising as most companies are pushing for 108MP support. The video support here is pegged at 1080p@60fps.
Connectivity
This one has a downclocked 5G Snapdragon X modem with a max download speed of 1Gbps. It uses an older Bluetooth 5.1 and WiFi 5. The surprise here is that it supports a more modern USB 3.1 and Quick Charge 4+.
Verdict and Conclusion
Generally speaking, this is actually a very good move from Qualcomm. That’s my opinion. Regardless of all its shortcomings. Qualcomm is targeting this SoC for $100 dollar phones and seeks to flood the market with cheap 5G phones that offer solid gaming performance.
$100 = 160,000 NGN = Rs. 8900
So this means that brands no longer need to sell Helio G85, Unisoc T606, Dimensity 6020, Helio G99 and the occasional Dimensity 6080 in their phones. Qualcomm has come to blow all of them away. Imagine all of these SoCs use Cortex A75 and A76 CPUs, the new 4s Gen 2 uses A78 CPU cores and is going to be used in $100 phones with much better performance.
I mean Qualcomm has studied India well, that’s why it’s giving them Gaming Performance and Quick Charging on the cheap. If you can give them these two, you have won them over.
This move by Qualcomm is revolutionary for the low-end market and I greatly applaud it. The only issue I have with this SoC is that it could be an Indian exclusive SoC only and may not make its way out of the subcontinent. Other than that, I think everyone who’s complaining about this SoC should shut up and take a seat.
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Phones that will use this socs must find its way to our country ooo.
100$ dirt cheap.
But they won’t give us. They’re still selling Snapdragon 685 and Helio G99 😕