Qualcomm’s next mid-range chip may bring significant improvements compared to the Snapdragon 660 and consequently its respective segment of the market, industry insider Roland Quandt suggested earlier this month, having listed some specs of Qualcomm’s prototype device said to be used for testing the new Snapdragon 670. According to the source, the Snapdragon 670 will build on the WQXGA support of its predecessors and be compatible with WQHD screens, in addition to being optimized for use in conjunction with up to 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM. Compatibility with eMMC 5.1 flash memory chips boasting capacities of at least 64GB is also said to be part of the Snapdragon 670 package that’s rumored to benefit from significant improvements on the imaging front as well.
The testing device powered by the unannounced chip reportedly features a 22.6-megapixel rear camera and a 13-megapixel front one, though the finalized product is likely to support even more capable modules. For reference, the Snapdragon 660 can take advantage of either a dual-camera setup with two 13-megapixel sensors or a single-lens 24-megapixel one. The previous system-on-chip had its eight Kryo 260 cores clocked at a maximum operating frequency of 2.2GHz and its successor is likely to surpass that performance even though it’s expected to retain a similar octa-core configuration with two high-performing cores. No firm details on the graphics processing abilities of the Snapdragon 670 have been provided by the source but if Qualcomm’s recent product decisions are any indication, the company is likely prioritizing the energy efficiency of the follow-up to the Adreno 512. While the next silicon will almost certainly have more raw power in terms of rendering than its predecessor did, massive leaps remain unlikely.
The Snapdragon 670 has been rumored since late summer, with original reports stating the next mid-range chip from the San Diego, California-based tech giant will be manufactured using Samsung’s 10nm LPP process technology, i.e. the same one that backed 2017 flagship chips – the Snapdragon 835 and Exynos 8895. While such claims remain somewhat dubious, there’s little doubt that Qualcomm is committing significant resources to making its next mid-range offering even more conservative in regards to power consumption without making any sacrifices. From a consumer perspective, 2018 is likely to see the introduction of mid-range Android devices that are closer to their flagship counterparts than ever before on all fronts.