Qualcomm once again has upgraded its 600 series SoC by introducing a successor of the Snapdragon 675, which debuted some months ago. The new chipset is dubbed Snapdragon 678 and is built on an 11nm node. It boasts of an improved CPU and GPU performance over the predecessor but still makes use of the Kryo 460 cores and Adreno 612 GPU, but there has been a tweak.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 SoC makes use of an improved Kryo 460 SoC. It has two power-efficient cores clocked at 2.2GHz, which is an improvement over the 2.0GHz cores on the Snapdragon 675. The GPU, Adreno 612, it’s the same for both chipsets, but there has been an improvement in the performance.
Unfortunately, Snapdragon 678 phones won’t support the 5G network. The SoC makes use of the Qualcomm X12 modem, which has support for 4G networks and down only. However, there’s an improvement in the download speed, and with a Snapdragon 678-powered device, you can get 600Mbps download speed and 150Mbps on uploads.
For cameras, SD 678 phones will use Qualcomm Spectra 250L image signal processor. It supports up to 192MP single camera sensor and dual camera up to 16/25MP with MFNR. The camera can shoot 4k Ultra HD video capture @30fps and slow Motion video capture: 1080p@120fos, 720p@240fps.
With Qualcomm’s third-generation AI, they have improved the camera performance of the Snapdragon 678 SoC. The camera on Snapdragon 678 phones will support portrait mode, 5x optical zoom, HEVC, and accelerated EIS support. And ass for the display, it has been equipped with support for FHD+, a maximum resolution of 1080 x 2520p, and 10bits color depth.
Meanwhile, with OEM now equipping their phones with massive batteries, the Snapdragon 678 SoC comes with Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ to that effect. Other features of the SoC include Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, Galileo, GLONASS, GPS, QZSS, SBAS, USB-C 3.1, aptX™ HD audio, and audio playback up to 4W.
List of Snapdragon 678 phones; SD 678 phones
Redmi Note 10
Price: $165
As usual, Xiaomi is the first to debut a Snapdragon 678 phone. The SoC runs the newly launched Redmi Note 10, which presents fascinating specs at an affordable price tag. It boasts of a massive upgrade over the predecessor, and coupled with the Adreno 612 GPU that clocked at 896MHz – the device will deliver the best gaming performance. The SoC gets up to 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. Outside-of-the-box, you get Android 11 on top of MIUI 12 as Xiaomi prepares for MIUI 12.5 upgrade.
The Redmi Note 10 has a primary 48MP shooter alongside an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, a 2MP macro, and a 2MP depth sensor. It features a 13MP snapper at the front panel for taking selfies. Meanwhile, the screen is a 6.43-inch AMOLED panel with Gorilla Glass 3 protection. And delivering a 2-day power is a beefy 5000mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging. The charging adapter comes bundled with the package, and hence, you won’t spend extra money to charge at a higher speed.
And just like the predecessor, the device features a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. However, it has been optimized to perform other functions aside from unlocking your device. When you double-tap on the scanner, you can activate Google assistant, silent mode, the control center, and more.
