Qualcomm's Snapdragon 450 makes $200 phones faster, last longer
The new chip promises better battery life, graphics and performance over its previous iteration, the Snapdragon 435.
Having shrunk the gap between premium and midrange phones, Qualcomm now wants to work on making budget phones snappier.
It plans on doing that with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core chips. Built on a 14nm process, these new chips offer a load of performance improvements over its previous 435 processor, including longer battery life and quicker browsing and gaming performance.
The 450 could also boost your photography game, as Qualcomm says it's the first time its 400-range of processors supports real-time Bokeh, which is the ability to blur the background of a photo in real time. This lets you to see just how your photo will turn out before you hit the shutter button.
Other specs include LTE CAT 6 support, four hours more battery time compared with the Snapdragon 435, Quick Charge 3.0, USB 3.0 and support for FHD+ displays (that's 2,160x1,440 pixels).
Expect to see the new chips on $200 and below phones (AU$250, £150), especially from Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Vivo, and Huawei.
The release of a new processor comes about as the chipmaker battles Apple in court over licensing issues. Apple is claiming that Qualcomm has been "stifling innovation," while Qualcomm is trying to get Apple's phones import banned by the US International Trade Commission.
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