Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 Chipset, Paving the Way for Affordable 5G Smartphones
Qualcomm has introduced its latest mobile processor, the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2, at an event in India. This chipset is designed to bring 5G technology to budget-friendly smartphones, with a price tag of around $99 (approximately Rs. 8,200).
The Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 is positioned below the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 in Qualcomm’s processor lineup and is specifically targeted towards India. Xiaomi has already announced that it will be the first original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to launch a smartphone powered by this SoC in the country before the end of the year.
The chip features a 64-bit architecture with eight cores, including two performance and six efficiency cores. The performance cores can reach a peak clock speed of 2.0 GHz, while the efficiency cores are capped at 1.8 GHz. The Adreno GPU supports OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.1, and OpenCL 2.0 APIs.
The Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 also comes with a 5G Modem-RF System, enabling Gigabit 5G connectivity. Additionally, it supports standalone (SA) 5G network connectivity, allowing it to operate on frequency bands that work independently of 4G networks. This feature is notable, as Reliance Jio is the only telecommunications provider in India to offer SA 5G connectivity.
Other features of the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 include support for LPDDR4x RAM clocked at up to 2133 MHz, UFS 3.1 onboard storage, and a 12-bit Spectra Image Signal Processor (ISP) that can support up to 84-megapixel single camera sensors. The chip also features electronic image stabilisation (EIS) and Multi Frame Noise Reduction (MFNR) capabilities.
The processor supports full-HD+ displays with a refresh rate of up to 90Hz and can playback videos at a maximum resolution of 1080p at 60 frames-per-second (fps). It also comes with Qualcomm aptX Adaptive Audio for 96kHz music streaming.
In terms of connectivity, the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 supports USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1 interface, Quick Charge 4+ technology, and Qualcomm’s Location Suite, which offers lane and sidewalk-level accuracy with support for various navigational systems. The processor also supports Bluetooth 5.1 and up to Wi-Fi 5.
