Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 690 processor is designed to bring 5G connectivity to budget phones. The Snapdragon 690 is the first Qualcomm 600-series chip (think, Snapdragon 675) to support 5G out-of-the-box and while it’s still going to support the slower sub-6GHz standard (not mmWave), it’s important that it exists today. Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 690 processor will “help make 5G accessible to more people than ever before.”
Qualcomm has the Snapdragon 865 (with discrete 5G modem sold separately) for high-end flagships while its Snapdragon 765 and Snapdragon 765G processors (with integrated modem) are meant for mid-tier 5G devices. With the newly announced Snapdragon 690 processor, Qualcomm is making 5G connectivity even more affordable and accessible. Like the Snapdragon 765 and Snapdragon 765G, the Snapdragon 690 also has an integrated Snapdragon X51 modem which means original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will not have to shell out extra to enable 5G on their budget offerings.
HMD Global (Nokia phone makers), LG, Motorola, Sharp, TCL, and Wingtech will be the first batch of OEMs to launch Snapdragon 690-based devices possibly by the end of this year.
Built on Samsung’s 8nm manufacturing process, the Snapdragon 690 has an 8-core CPU (two Cortex-A77 cores at up to 2GHz and six Cortex-A56 cores at up to 1.7GHz) paired with an Adreno 619L GPU. Qualcomm claims up to 20% faster CPU performance and up to 60% better graphics in comparison to the Snapdragon 675. The integrated Snapdragon X51 modem meanwhile promises up to 2.5GB/s download and up to 660Mbps upload speeds (over 5G).
There are a few other features to talk about. The Snapdragon 690 can support 4K HDR video recording and 120Hz displays, both of which are a first for any Snapdragon 600-series processor. It can also drive through high-resolution 192MP cameras and can theoretically squeeze more accurate geolocation data in both urban and remote parts of India thanks to built-in NavIC (which is developed by ISRO) support.
