Qualcomm sees big business in mid-range smartphones, and the popularity of phones like the POCO X2, Mi Note 10 Lite, and the Google Pixel 4a are proof of this. All three phones mentioned are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 730 and 730G chipsets, and the company is refreshing the line via their newer Snapdragon 732G SoC that promises even better performance than last year’s chips.

Like any new chip refresh, Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 732G offers better performance compared to last year’s offerings via higher clock speeds in its Prime core (2.3GHz versus 2.2GHz) and an improved Adreno 618 GPU that Qualcomm promises to deliver “15% improvement in graphics rendering”.

The SoC gets “Snapdragon Elite Gaming” experiences via the company’s 4th generation Qualcomm AI Engine, as well as features like Jank Reducer, Vulkan 1.1 Graphics Driver, True HDR, and anti-cheat extensions. The new chipset also features a Spectra 350 Image Signal Processor with support for 4K HDR video capture, the 4th generation Qualcomm AI Engine with up to 3.6 TOPS, the Hexagon 688 DSP, Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ support, the Snapdragon X15 LTE Modem with support for 3-CA and 4×4 MIMO on two carriers, support for the Qualcomm FastConnect 6200 subsystem, and support for Qualcomm’s Aqstic audio codec.

The chipset does not have 5G capability, and eagle-eyed readers will notice that Qualcomm is only adding very small improvements to the SoC despite rolling it out as a new, refreshed model. This is quickly becoming the norm for the chip manufacturer, something that they began with their flagship 855 processor and 855 Plus, and continued with this year’s Snapdragon 865 and 865 Plus. 

People who bought mid-range phones last year with Qualcomm’s SD 730 and 730G processors will likely not find a reason to upgrade to devices armed with the new processor as the performance bump is very slim.

The new chipset will debut first in an upcoming device made by Xiaomi spin-off POCO, which will likely be a mid-range phone made to complement their top-tier POCO F2 Pro offering in international markets.

https://unbox.ph/editorials/poco-f2-pro-review-still-slaying-flagships/

Poco’s global head of products Sam Jiang said in a statement, “We believe the device will set a new benchmark in the mid-range category, completely redefining the relationship between a phone’s price and its capabilities.”