Unveiled: hot hardware releases
We take a first peep at a budget SoC, new MacBooks and the first Dynabook in Europe.
Qualcomm has good news for parents in the shape of the Snapdragon 215 system on a chip (SoC), which promises significant performance benefits for low-cost smartphones.
The “2” series has long been found in cheaper handsets, such as Microsoft’s Lumia 650 ( right), but the hardware has proved restrictive.
According to Qualcomm, the 215’s four ARM Cortex-A53 cores provide a 50% performance boost over the previous generation, backed up by a move to 64-bit processing, meaning handsets can support 64-bit apps.
Aside from raw performance, there are additions that will improve user experience, such as Quick Charge technology for speedier battery top-ups and contactless payments via NFC.
The Snapdragon 215 also features dual image sensor processors, another first in the series, which means it can support dual-camera depth sensing and images of up to 13 megapixels, depending on what other hardware manufactures deploy.
For the first time there’s also support for Full HD video capture and HD+ resolution displays, as well as dual SIM configurations.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 215 looks likely to further erode the gap between budget handsets and the vastly more expensive flagships.
KEY DIGITS AND DETAILS
Price N/A
Available In phones by the end of the year
Processor
Four-core ARM Cortex A53
GPU Adreno 308