Qualcomm Refreshes Mid-Range Lines with the 632, 439, and 429

Qualcomm is introducing three new processors today – the Snapdragon 632, 439, and the 429. In contrast to the Snapdragon 710 premium mid-range chip which was launched last month, these new processors are a refresh of their mid-tier lines which go into the lower-end smartphones.

Moving to 14nm, first 12nm

Like MediaTek, which has recently stated moving its mid-range parts to 12nm, Qualcomm continues to shift their lower-end SoCs to newer nodes. While the 632 uses Samsung’s 14nm LPP, the two Sanpdragon 400 parts are now Qualcomm’s first 12nm parts.

Process Technology
	Snapdragon 632	Snapdragon 439	Snapdragon 429
Process	14nm	12nm	12nm

Specs

The 632 and the 439 are octa-core parts while the 429 is a quad-core part. All three parts are based on the Cortex-A53 core and vary only in maximum frequency.

CPU
	Snapdragon 632	Snapdragon 439	Snapdragon 429
CPU	4×Kryo 250 @ 1.8 GHz 4×Kryo 250 @ 1.8 GHz	4×Cortex-A53 @ 1.45 GHz 4×Cortex-A53 @ 1.95 GHz	4×Cortex-A53 @ 1.95 GHz

As far as the remaining specifications go, the new models are not particularly interesting. While the 632 and 439 come with support for full HD resolution, the 429 is left behind with only 720p support.

Camera, Display
	Snapdragon 632	Snapdragon 439	Snapdragon 429
GPU	Adreno 506	Adreno 505	Adreno 504
Output	1920×1200	1920×1200	1140×720
ISP	24 MP / 13+13 MP 2x ISP	21 MP / 8+8 MP 2x ISP	16 MP / 8+8 MP 2x ISP

For wireless connectivity, the 632 sports the more powerful X9 modem while the 400-series parts feature the X6.

Modem
	Snapdragon 632	Snapdragon 439	Snapdragon 429
Modem	X9	X6	X6
Up	Cat 13 150 Mbps	Cat 5 75 Mbps	Cat 5 75 Mbps
Down	Cat 7 300 Mbps	Cat 4 150 Mbps	Cat 4 150 Mbps

Qualcomm’s introduction of three new mid-tier SoCs offers a very straightforward refresh path for OEMs. Devices utilizing these parts are expected to show up in the second half of this year.