Leading chipset maker, Qualcomm, today announced three new chipsets in India. The Snapdragon 720G, Snapdragon 662 and Snapdragon 460 support the company’s Elite Gaming Platform, have AI capabilities and more. But, they don’t support 5G connectivity. The company had earlier announced the Snapdragon 865 — its flagship for 2020 — and the Snapdragon 765, both with 5G support.
Based on the specifications of the chipsets, it’s clear that Qualcomm expects 4G to be the prevailing connectivity mode for India in 2020. “While we see a fast adoption of 5G across geographies globally, we do recognize the phenomenal boost that 4G has given towards enabling broadband connectivity for Indian consumers. 4G will continue to remain a focus area for Qualcomm Technologies for regions like India, where it will stay a key technology for connectivity,” said Rajen Vagadia, vice president and president, Qualcomm India.
The Snapdragon 720G uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X15 LTE modem, while the 662 and 460 both use the X11 LTE modem. All three chipsets also support Qualcomm’s artificial intelligence (AI) engine for cameras and other software, while only the 720G supports the company’s Elite Gaming platform.
They are also the first chipsets to support the Indian version of the Global Positioning System (GPS), called Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (often abbreviated NAVIC).
The three chipsets together cater to a segment of smartphones that’s very important in India. While the 720G should be seen in slightly premium devices, possibly priced in the Rs. 25-35000 range, the 662 and 460 should power lower tier devices. Together, these segments make for the highest selling segments in India’s smartphone market.
Recent reports suggest that the premium segment in India, which is the Rs. 30,000 and above segment has been growing. The Snapdragon 720G will likely power more phones in this segment. On the other hand, lower tier phones will benefit from the Snapdragon 662 and 460.
Indian telecom minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said in September last year, that the government plans to auction 5G spectrum in India by the end of 2020 or early next year. That means full fledged 5G connectivity here will begin closer to 2022.
Since chipsets like the Snapdragon 865 and 765 are more expensive than their 4G counterparts, it seems reasonable for OEMs to make use of these new 4G processors for phones to be sold in India.
Source: Livemint
