Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon 450: a 14nm process makes it faster and more efficient
Entry-level phones are about to get 25% better with Qualcomms new Snapdragon 450 chipset, give or take. Despite its 4-series branding, this one is more of a reworked Snapdragon 625 and comes to replace the Snapdragon 435.
The new chipset features eight Cortex-A53 cores and promises a 25% boost in processing speed over the incumbent S435 chip. It also moves to the Adreno 506 GPU, which will offer a 25% boost in gaming performance.
Of course, the highlight of this new chip is that its built on a 14nm process the first among the 4-series (as expected). Power draw when gaming will be reduced by up to 30% and Qualcomm expects batteries will offer up to 4 hours more of active use compared to the old chip.
The Snapdragon 450 also brings support for new camera features. For one, it can record 1080p @ 60fps video and it supports dual cameras natively (up to 13MP+13MP). It can do real-time bokeh effects too! One thing is lacking compared to the S625 chip, however, and thats 4K video capture (it is an entry-level chip, after all).
There are a few other improvements, see the table below for a more direct comparison. Just to rattle off a few more specs USB 3.0 is now supported, QuickCharge 3.0 (80% charge in 35 minutes) and Wi-Fi ac also come included.