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As part of its MWC 2018 proceedings, Qualcomm today announced its Snapdragon 700 series of processors designed for mobile devices. At present, Qualcomm has yet to provide any details on when device owners can expect to see a 700-series processor powering their device, although the company has confirmed the plan is to begin sampling the new series out to its customers (OEMs) in the first half of this year. At which point the onus on delivery to market will switch to the manufacturers.
As for the 700 series, Qualcomm is positioning this line of processors as one which straddles the premium and upper mid-range sectors. Therefore this is a line of processors designed to fall below the flagship 800 series (assuming the position of Qualcomm’s 600 series) currently headlined by the Snapdragon 845, and be included in devices that are slightly more affordable in price. Although in spite of technically being a lower-level series, Qualcomm states the 700 series includes many of the same features and supports found in the 800 line. Therefore, and again in spite of being aimed at the non-premium sector, this series is designed to enrich affordable devices to near the premium level.
In particular, the Snapdragon 700 series will include greater artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities through the inclusion of support for Qualcomm’s AI Engine: an all-in-one AI solution announced just a matter of days ago. With Qualcomm stating the improvements equate to double what is currently offered through the company’s 660 mobile solution. In addition, the 700 series will see improvements to the camera, battery life, and efficiency, as well as general system performance. Much of these improvements come by way of the Hexagon Vector Processor, Kryo CPU, Spectra ISP, and Adreno Visual Processing subsystem, working in conjunction. For example, and thanks to the company’s Spectra ISP, owners of devices powered by a 700 series processor can expect camera features to include AI-assistance, improved low-light performance, and slow-motion capture. While also in part contributing to as much as a 30-percent improvement in power efficiency, along with support for faster charging technology such as Quick Charge 4+. This in addition to the various audio improvements through the included support for Bluetooth 5, as well as additional connectivity benefits, such as better carrier Wi-Fi support and ultra-fast LTE.