Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 Specifications, Comparison And Q&A
Today, Qualcomm officially unveiled its new Snapdragon 690 5G mobile platform. After the Snapdragon 8-series, Snapdragon 7-series, the Snapdragon 6 series introduces 5G since the start of the general availability of 5G, and it uses integrated 5G baseband.
For the first time, the Snapdragon 690 5G integrates a purpose-built Snapdragon X51 5G baseband and RF system, inheriting more advantages of the Snapdragon X55 (Snapdragon 865), Snapdragon X52 (Snapdragon 765/765G/768G) with its many features. Includes sub-6GHz and millimeter wave global 5G bands, global SA/NSA dual-mode, global multi-SIM, FDD/ TDD dual-standard, dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS), and support for 100MHz bandwidth, 4×4 MIMO.
However, there is a slight difference in 5G capabilities, with the Snapdragon X55 and Snapdragon X52 5G modes being able to have a maximum downlink rate respectively Reaching 3.7Gbps, 7.5Gbps, Snapdragon X51 down to 2.5Gbps, and 4G LTE mode is 1.2 Gbps max.
It’s also worth noting that the Snapdragon 690 5G supports dual SIM 5G+4G, and Qualcomm has also emphasized a greater focus on global interest in multi-card 5G+4G provides the best support for a global roaming experience, especially since VoLTE is very mature and has more multi-optimization. For 5G+5G dual SIM, Qualcomm believes it depends on the deployment of VoNR, the experience is not too good yet, but of course, the follow-up will stay tuned.
The Snapdragon 690 5G is built on Samsung’s 8nm process, and for the first time features a newly optimized Kryo 560 CPU architecture, based on the ARM A77/A55 design, including two large A77 cores, six small A55 cores, the highest frequency 2.0GHz, and 1.7GHz respectively for up to a 20% performance boost, while integrating the new Adreno 619L GPU for up to 60% performance improvement in graphics rendering.
Dual-channel LPDDR4X-2133 memory support, UFS 2.1 storage support, and network integration. FastConnect 6200 solutions with support for 2×2 Wi-Fi Wave 2, and Support for Wi-Fi 6 Ready, which means that while it’s not fully supported, it’s also partially available Wi-Fi 6 features.
The Snapdragon 690 5GG also devolves a lot of advanced features from the Snapdragon 8/7 series, such as support for 4K HDR video for the first time, for the first time, at a high refresh rate of 120Hz refresh rate for Full HD+ resolution and capture up to 192 megapixel’s of photos, and because of the integrated three ISPs, it can support three sets of 16-megapixel and other configurations of three cameras.
The first integration of the fifth-generation Qualcomm AI Engine and the first integration of the Hexagon 692 tensor accelerator ( HTA), the overall AI performance is improved by up to 70% over the previous generation.
The introduction of the AI Engine, combined with the Spectra 355L ISP and some excellent third-party algorithms, and can be a great help in many scenes of everyday shooting.
For example, the telephoto and near-field zoom switch can be very smooth, the background bokeh can be hair-raising accurate, and the algorithm of Rainbow Soft can be optimized. Super Night Mode reveals more detail and smoothes out otherwise over-exposed areas of a photo while brightening and sharpening dark areas so that The whole picture is much clearer.
The introduction of HTA, on the other hand, allows for scenarios that were previously not possible on the Snapdragon 6 series platform.
For example, taking a selfie captures hundreds of different feature points of the face, calculates and translates them into a child’s face in real-time, such as for different sounds.
Commercial devices powered by the Snapdragon 690 will be available in the second half of 2020, covering HMD Global, LG Electronics’ Motorola, Sharp, TCL, Wentao and other major OEM/ODMs, and with the introduction of the Snapdragon 690, the adoption of the Snapdragon more than 1,800 devices have been released or are in development for the Series 6 mobile platform.
Currently, there are more than 375 devices based on the Snapdragon 5G mobile platform that have been released or are being designed.
Q&A
What is the difference between Qualcomm X51, X52, and X55 baseband?
The Snapdragon X51 is the integrated modem Qualcomm built for the Snapdragon 690, which is essentially the same as the Snapdragon X55 and the X52 There is a certain inheritance relationship. There will be some technical inheritance between the various modems of Snapdragon, the main difference being in the capabilities. Qualcomm previously explained that the Snapdragon X55 modem has a maximum downlink rate of up to 7.5 Gbps and that the Snapdragon X52’s maximum the downlink rate is 3.7 Gbps, and the maximum Qualcomm can support on the Snapdragon X51 is 2.5 Gbps.
Which phone is likely to come first with the Snapdragon 690?
There are several OEMs and ODMs that have plans for commercial Snapdragon 690 SoC, with products expected to be available later this year. So far, customers include HMD Global, LG Electronics, Motorola, Sharp, TCL, and Wentao. The manufacturers are all in the research process. Specific commercial plans are customer-related and exact release is not known.
Will Snapdragon 690 covers the global market?
From a Qualcomm perspective, Qualcomm’s products are essential for the global market, and Qualcomm is generally more concerned about support for the Global market. The Snapdragon 690 is now a dual SIM with 5G+4G support to provide the best support for global roaming and user experience. Qualcomm’s view is that the support for 5G+5G dual cards is highly correlated with the current deployment of VoNR. The quality of the network itself will be relatively poor if VoNR is not well deployed in 5G. 5G just shows consumers an additional 5G icon on their phone, but it doesn’t bring about a substantial change in user experience. In contrast, today’s 4G voice, such as the well-known VoLTE, has been deployed for many years and has undergone a lot of optimization, it should be even better for the consumer experience at this stage. Of course, Qualcomm will continue to monitor the progress of subsequent VoNR deployments and make the appropriate matches when appropriate.
The Snapdragon 690 is capable of 192 megapixels with ISP single-camera support, and if it can be supported with multi-camera support up to How many pixels?
The Snapdragon 690 itself has three ISPs, so in terms of multi-camera support, it’s a big improvement over its predecessor. The first is the addition of an ISP, plus the ability to support something like three 16 MP (16MP) cameras ISP portfolio. There is a wide variety of configurations for specific customer products, some of which may have a large main camera and some smaller secondary cameras. For the mainstream triple and even quad-camera configurations on the market, the Snapdragon 690 is flexible enough to support all of them.
What level of memory and flash capability does the Snapdragon 690 support?
Currently, the Snapdragon 690 can support UFS2.1 flash memory, wait for the subsequent UFS2.2 JEDEC standard. Once it’s completely clear, Qualcomm considers going for an upgrade as well.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 vs Snapdragon 675 vs Snapdragon 665 Comparison
| Features | Snapdragon 690 5G | Snapdragon 675 | Snapdragon 665 |
| CPU Clock Speed | Up to 2.0 GHz | Up to 2.0 GHz | Up to 2.0 GHz |
| CPU Cores | Qualcomm Kryo 560 CPU | Qualcomm Kryo 460 CPU Octa-core CPU | Qualcomm Kryo 260 CPU Octa-core CPU |
| CPU Architecture | 64-bit | 64-bit | 64-bit |
| Modem Name | Qualcomm Snapdragon X51 5G Modem-RF System | Qualcomm Snapdragon X12 LTE modem | Qualcomm Snapdragon X12 LTE modem |
| RFFE | – | High-power transmit (HPUE) Qualcomm Adaptive Antenna Tuning | High-power transmit (HPUE) Qualcomm Envelope Tracking Qualcomm Adaptive Antenna Tuning |
| Image Signal Processor | Qualcomm Spectra 355L image signal processor 14-bit 2x Image Signal Processor (ISP) | Qualcomm Spectra 250L image signal processor 14-bit 2x Image Signal Processor (ISP) | Qualcomm Spectra 165 image signal processor 14-bit 2x Image Signal Processor (ISP) |
| Single Camera | Up to 192 MP | Up to 192 MP | Up to 48 MP |
| Video Playback | – | Up to 4K Ultra HD video playback | Up to 4K Ultra HD video playback |
| Codec Support | H.265 (HEVC) H.264 (AVC) VP8 VP9 | H.265 (HEVC) H.264 (AVC) VP8 VP9 | H.265 (HEVC) H.264 (AVC) VP8 VP9 |
| Audio Technology | Qualcomm Aqstic audio codec up to Qualcomm WCD9385 Qualcomm Aqstic smart speaker amplifier up to Qualcomm WSA8815 Qualcomm Hexagon Voice Assistant Accelerator Qualcomm Aqstic audio technology | Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo Plus technology Qualcomm Aqstic audio technology Qualcomm aptX audio technology | Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo Plus technology Qualcomm Aqstic audio technology Qualcomm aptX audio technology |
| GPU Name | Qualcomm Adreno 619L GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 612 GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 610 GPU |
| Qualcomm Quick Charge Technology Support | Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ technology | Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ technology | Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology |
