Snapdragon Wear 2100 dedicated for Smartwatches and other new Chips from Qualcomm

Qualcomm recently unveiled new chips. One processor dedicated for smartwatches, a new super-fast 4G LTE modem chip, and three new processors for smartphones.

Snapdragon Wear 2100

The processor is available in two versions: tethered (which uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi) and connected. In the connected version, the processor’s next-generation LTE modem, which also includes low power Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, is engineered so users can stream music, answer calls, send messages, and much, much more, all directly via their wearable.

The Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor is 30 percent smaller than our previous-generation wearable processors, enabling thinner, sleeker product designs. And whether tethered or connected, the processor uses 25 percent less power, extending the wearable’s battery life and offering manufacturers more freedom to innovate in features and design.

Snapdragon Wear 2100 specifications:

• CPU – Quad ARM Cortex A7 up to 800 1.2 GHz optimized for wearables
• Processing Technology – 28nm
• GPU – Qualcomm® Adreno™ 304 GPU, OpenGL ES 3.0
• Memory – LPDDR3 400 MHz
• DSP – Integrated modem DSP shared for modem, GNSS, sensor processing, keyword detection and audio
• Display – Up to 640×480 at 60fps
• Audio – Fluence™ noise cancellation technology, Snapdragon Voice Activation, Snapdragon Voice+
• Modem – X5 LTE, Global Mode:
  • LTE FDD and TDD
  • WCDMA (DC-HSDPA, DC-HSUPA)
  • TD-SCDMA
  • EV-DO and CDMA 1x
  • GSM/EDGE
• Wi-Fi – 802.11n (2.4 GHz)
• Security – Qualcomm® SecureMSM™ hardware and software foundation
• Charging – Qualcomm® Quick Charge™ 2.0
• Location – Qualcomm® IZat™ Gen8C
• USB – USB 2.0
• NFC – Supported (integrated NFC through NXP/Qualcomm collaboration)
• Bluetooth – Bluetooth 4.1, Bluetooth Low Energy

Smartwatches with Snapdragon Wear 2100 are expected to be commercially available in the second half of this year.

Snapdragon X16 LTE

Qualcomm Technologies announced the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X16 LTE modem. It is the first commercially announced modem to support Gigabit Class LTE speeds—up to 1 Gbps.

The Snapdragon X16 LTE modem exploits multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology to receive more “spatial streams”, and thus more data, from the LTE network. Most LTE devices today can receive data on two antennas simultaneously, using 2×2 MIMO technology. In comparison, the Snapdragon X16 LTE modem supports 4×4 MIMO—four antennas on the LTE base station, transmitting to four antennas on the mobile device. Not only that, but it also supports 4×4 MIMO on two aggregated LTE carriers.

Snapdragon X16 LTE modem specifications:

• Downlink Features:
  • 4x20MHz carrier aggregation
  • Up to 256-QAM
  • Up to 4×4 MIMO on two aggregated carriers
  • Maximum 10 spatial streams
• Uplink Features:
  • 2x20MHZ carrier aggregation
  • Up to 64-QAM
  • Uplink data compression
• LTE Category:
  • 16 (Downlink)
  • 13 (Uplink)
• Peak Download Speed – Up to 1 Gbps
• Peak Upload Speed – Up to 150 Mbps
• Global Mode – Yes
• Supported Cellular Technologies:
  • LTE FDD
  • LTE TDD
  • LTE-U and Licensed Assisted Access (LAA)
  • WCDMA (DB-DC-HSDPA, DC-HSUPA)
  • TD-SCDMA
  • EV-DO
  • CDMA 1x
  • GSM/EDGE
• LTE Broadcast – Yes
• Multi SIM:
  • LTE Dual SIM Dual Active
  • LTE Dual SIM Dual Standby
• Next-generation Calling Services:
  • VoLTE with SRVCC to 3G and 2G
  • HD and Ultra HD Voice (EVS)
  • CSFB to 3G and 2G

Snapdragon 425, 435, and 625 smartphone chips

Qualcomm is also expanding its line of mid-range smartphone chips with three new models. They’re all based on ARM Cortex-A53 designs, but generally speaking the higher the number, the more powerful the chip. Below features of the new mobile processors from Qualcomm.

Snapdragon 425:

• Quad core Cortex A53 up to 1.4 GHz
• Adreno 308 GPU
• Display up to 1280×800 @ 60 fps
• X6 LTE Cat.4 connectivity up to 150 Mbps DL
• H.264 and H.265 codecs up to 1080p

Snapdragon 435:

• Octa core Cortex A53 up to 1.4 GHz
• Adreno 505 GPU
• Display up to 1080p60
• X8 LTE Cat.7 connectivity up to 300 Mbps DL
• H.264 and H.265 codecs up to 1080p

Snapdragon 625:

• Octa core Cortex A53 up to 2.0 GHz
• Adreno 506 GPU
• Display up to 1900×1200 @ 60fps
• X9 LTE Cat.7 connectivity up to 300 Mbps DL
• 35% lower power usage than Snapdragon 617
• H.264 and H.265 codecs up to 4K

The processors also support Quick Charge 2.0 (Snapdragon 425) or 3.0, Fluence noise cancellation technology, 16 to 24 MP camera with dual ISP, NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, etc…The Snapdragon 435, 430, and 425 are all pin-compatible and software-compatible, and the Snapdragon 625 is also software-compatible. These processors are expected to power smartphones available in the second half of 2016.

Source: Qualcomm, Liliputing, CNXsoft