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Yesterday Qualcomm finally padded out the rest of its chipset line-up for mobile phones for 2020. We had all the exciting releases in December with the flagship Snapdragon 865 and the new mid-range 5G Snapdragon 765.

So the latest announcement is less exciting but equally as important as the new chips will feature on phones within the more affordable segment. This includes the Snapdragon 720G, the Snapdragon 662 and finally the entry-level Snapdragon 460.

When I looked at the Snapdragon 720G and the Snapdragon 662, there were a suspicious amount of similarities between the chipsets that sit above them. In fact, there were hardly any differences apart from camera spec changes, and Wi-Fi 6 compatibility.

The spec sheet for all the chips is a bit thin on the ground so it is hard to compare them accurately. The one positive thing about the SD720G and SD662 is that they are probably going to take the tech of more expensive chipsets and introduce it to a lower price point. At least that’s what I hope.

So how does the Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 look like compared to similar chipsets?

CPU

Initial impressions look positive, this is a massive upgrade from the Snapdragon 450 which launched all the way back in 2017.

With this chipset, you basically get a beefed-up Snapdragon 636 or cut down Snapdragon 665. The SD460 is manufactured on the 11nm fabrication process which is the same as the SD665 and improved over the 14nm of the SD636.

The Exynos 9609 is the closes competitor I can find from Samsung this was launched last year and uses the 10nm fabrication process, there is also the Exynos 7904 which sits a bit lower on the 14nm fabrication process.

Both the Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 and SD636 share the same CPU specification even though they use different Kryo numbers. This is four Cortex A73 running at 1.8GHz then another four Cortex A53 cores at 1.8Ghz.

The Snapdragon 665 has the same CPU core layout, but its four Kryo 260 (CA73) cores are clocked higher at 2.0GHz.

The Samsung has the same but it clocks the A73 much higher at 2.2GHz but uses a lower 1.6GHz clock for the Cortex A53

The old SD450 looks redundant now with eight Cortex A53 cores going up to 1.8GHz

GPU – Adreno 610 vs Adreno 509 – 3DMark Benchmarks

The GPU is where things get interesting for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 460. The specs state this has an Adreno 610 GPU which is the same as you get on the Snapdragon 665. The Snapdragon 636 has the Adreno 509 and the SD450 has the Adreno 506.

Looking at some benchmarks of the Adreno 610 vs 636 you are looking at a 15% to 20% improvement from the 509 to 610 in most of the 3DMark Sling Shot tests

via Notbookcheck

The Samsung uses the Mali-G72 with three cores which is much closer in performance with some of the 3D mark scores being ahead by around 5% but others behind by 5%

Camera

The camera is a bit more confusing we know the new CPU has a Qualcomm Spectra 340 processor and it can handle 48MP lenses with a dual 16MP lens. These limitations can change though and Qualcomm has upgraded chipset specs in the past to state they can handle bigger MP lenses.

Connectivity

All these are 4G LTE chipsets as you would expect. The SD460 has a Snapdragon X11 LTE modem which is not as good as the one found in the SD636 or SD665 and can only handle 390 Mbps, but I doubt this will be a huge issue.

The spec sheet states that there is Wi-fi 6 802.11ax with WPA3 for security. However, as we saw last year with the Snapdragon 855 it is up to the manufacturer if they want to include Wi-Fi 6. None of the other chipsets has support for this.

This chipset will bring the latest Bluetooth 5.1 to entry phones.

Pricing

With this being a Snapdragon 400 series, it is the pricing that is most important. The SD665 was found on phones like Xiaomi Mi A3 and the Moto G8 Plus both of which cost over £150

The Nokia 7.1, 6.2 and Motorola G7 Plus  have the SD636, again, all over £150

The Samsung Exynos 9609 is found in the Motorola One Vision which is about £200

Not many phones are still sold with the SD450 but I would hope the Snapdragon 460 will launch on phones at or under £150.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 vs Snapdragon 636 vs SD665 vs SD450 vs Samsung Exynos 7904 Comparison Table

SoCSnapdragon 460Snapdragon 636Snapdragon 665Snapdragon 450Exynos 9609
Year20202019201920172019
Fabrication11nm14nm11nm LPP14nm10nm
CPUSOcta-core up to 1.8 GHz Kryo 240

4 x Kryo 240 (Cortex A73) @ 1.8Ghz
4 x Kryo 260G (A73) @ 1.8Ghz4x Kryo 260 (CA73) @ 2.0GHz4x A53 @ 1.8GHz

4 x A73 @ 2.2Ghz
4 x Kryo 260 (A53) @ 1.8Ghz4 x Kryo 260S (A53) @ 1.8Ghz4x Kryo 260 (CA53) @ 1.8GHz4x A53 @ 1.8GHz4 x A53 @ 1.6Ghz
GPUAdreno 610Adreno 509Adreno 610Adreno 506Mali-G72 MP3
Memory2x16 LP4x @ 1866 MHz
eMMC, UFS 2.1
LPDDR4X / UFS2x 16-bit @ 1866MHz
LPDDR4
14.9GB/s
1x 32-bit LPDDR3LPDDR4X / eMMC
CameraQualcomm Spectra 340 Image
48 MP Photo Capture
Qualcomm Spectra 160 ISP
24MP Single
Spectra 165
Single 48 MP
Dual ISP
21MP (Single)
Rear 24MP, Front 24MP,
16 MP dual camera with Zero
Shutter Lag and Multi-Frame Noise
Reduction
Dual 16MPDual 16 MP, MFNR, ZSL, 30 fps
Single25 MP, MFNR, ZSL, 30 fps
13MP + 13 MP (Dual)Dual Camera 16+16MP
1080p Video Capture @ 60 FPS4K @ 30 FPS2160p30, 1080p120
H.264 & H.265
1080p
H.264 & HEVC (Decode)
4K UHD 120fps
HEVC(H.265) and H.264
VP9
FHD @ 120FPSFHD @ 120FPS
ModemSnapdragon X11 LTE modemX12 LTESnapdragon X12 LTEX9 LTE Cat. 7
300Mbps DL
Downlink: LTE Cat 13 up to 390 Mbps,
2x20 MHz carrier aggregation, up to
256-QAM
Cat 12 (3xCA) / 13
600Mbps down

(Category 12/13)
DL = 600Mbps
3x20MHz CA, 256-QAM
150Mbps ULCat 12 (3xCA) / 13
600Mbps down
Uplink: LTE Cat 13 up to 150 Mbps, 2x20
MHz carrier aggregation, up to 64-QAM
150Mbps upUL = 150Mbps
2x20MHz CA, 64-QAM
150Mbps up
AIHexagon 683Hexagon DSPHexagon 686Hexagon DSP
OtherWi-fi 6 802.11ax-ready - WPA3
Bluetooth version: 5.1

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