Qualcomm's latest chips may transform future low-cost phones

Qualcomm usually gets headlines for its top-level Snapdragon 8 Elite series, and while these may be inside the most expensive and desirable phones this year, Qualcomm also has a series of chips that power more modest hardware, and we’re talking about two of them today.

The Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 and Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 are two new octa-core processors that have a host of updates over the last entries into the series. Here’s what you need to know.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 5

Built using a 4nm process, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 will be found in reasonably priced phones. Its octa-core structure features Qualcomm’s Kyro CPU and Adreno CPU, and is split into two 2.4GHz performance cores and six 2.0GHz efficiency cores.

Compared to the last Snapdragon 4 chip, the Gen 5 has a considerable 77% improvement in GPU performance, leading to more vibrant visuals at up to 90fps. Overall performance is also said to be up by 54% over the competition, but Qualcomm has not named the chip it’s using for the comparison.

A series of power-saving and efficiency improvements mean devices powered by the Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 will last for an additional hour playing video, more than an hour-and-a-half music playback, and an additional 35 minutes of voice calls on a single battery charge.

Other notable features include Snapdragon Sound with Qualcomm’s Aqstic AptX Adaptive technology, Snapdragon Smooth Motion UI for 25% less screen stutter and 43% faster app launches, plus the ability to use two SIM cards with 5G active at the same time on both.

For the camera, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 enables auto-exposure and auto-focus, plus auto white balance, and it supports both face detection and electronic image stabilization (EIS).

Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 5

The Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 is also built using a 4nm process and uses Qualcomm’s Kyro CPU and Adreno GPU, but its cores are structured differently to the Snapdragon 4 Gen 5. It uses four 2.6GHz performance cores and four 2.0GHz efficiency cores, and will be used for phones where performance is more of a focus.

Qualcomm claims a 21% improvement in GPU performance over the previous Snapdragon 6, and a modest 8% power-saving improvement too. Expect at least two hours extra music playback, and nearly 40 minutes of additional gaming on a single battery charge.

Gaming is important here. The chip features Qualcomm’s Adaptive Performance Engine 4.0 for steady and smooth gameplay, plus Snapdragon Game Super Resolution to upscale graphics, and its Frames Per Second 3.0 tuning too.

Other features include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and BT Channel Sounding for use with item trackers. All these are brand-new additions to the 6 series processors.

Finally, both the Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 and Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 feature 3GPP Release 17 and the Snapdragon 5G modem. This is a first for both series, and on the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5, it supports FDD Power Class 2 for Uplink, with dedicated upload bands for 25% faster image and data uploads.

Qualcomm indicates phones with the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 and Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 will arrive in phones from the second half of 2026, and manufacturers already signed up to use them include Honor, Oppo, Realme, and Redmi.