Qualcomm's Snapdragon 480 chipset aims to bring 5G connectivity to low-cost smartphones

Qualcomm's commitment to bring 5G functionality to its low-cost offerings was evident when it launched the Snapdragon 690 chipset. Now, the company has stepped things up a notch by launching the Qualcomm Snapdragon 480. It is the first chipset in the Snapdragon 4xx series to come with 5G connectivity, and it comes with some exciting features.

The 8nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 feature a Kryo 460 CPU with a maximum clock speed of 2.0GHz. We are likely looking at a mix of two Kryo Gold and six Kyro Silver cores that aim to balance performance and efficiency. Things look promising on the GPU side of things, as the chipset features an Adreno 619 GPU; the same one found alongside the more impressively-specced Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G. As a result, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 supports FHD+ (1080 x 2520) panels up to 120 Hz. Similarly, HD+ (900 x 1600) screens can operate at 90 Hz.

Moving on to the 5G side of things, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 480's X51 5G modem supports both sub-6GHz and mmWave networks. It can hit peak download speeds of up to 2.5Gbps and upload speeds of 600Mbps over a 5G network. It is also one of the first low-cost Wi-Fi 6-ready Qualcomm chipsets that allow compatibility with 802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax networks. Lastly, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 also supports Bluetooth 5.1, Qualcomm aptX Adaptive Audio, TrueWireless Technology and FastConnect 6200.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 480's Spectra 345 image signal processor (ISP) can handle up to a single 64MP camera module. Dual-camera configurations are capped at up to 25MP per lens. It can capture 1080p video at up to 60 fps and 720p content at up to 120 fps. These specs are strictly par-for-the-course, considering that the Snapdragon 480 is poised to be a low-cost offering.

Other Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 specs include support for Quick Charge 4+ that allows for fast charging at up to 18W. The chipset's eMMC RAM can run at up to 2,133MHz. It can be paired with UFS 2.2 storage. Qualcomm has said that the Snapdragon 480 will make its debut in 'early 2021', indicating that it shouldn't be too long before we see it in action. If Qualcomm's previous releases are anything to go by, the chipset will very likely make its debut alongside a Chinese-origin smartphone.