Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 Brings 5G Support to Mid-Range Android Phones

Alongside its flagship Snapdragon 865 chipset, Qualcomm also unveiled its first mobile chipset with a built-in 5G modem. The Snapdragon 765 chipset (which also has a 765G variant) is designed to bring 5G connectivity to the masses. We can expect Snapdragon 765 to be baked into most upper mid-range 5G phones that launch in 2020.

Qualcomm yesterday only teased the Snapdragon 765 chipset and didn’t dwell into the specifics. Well, worry not, we are here to discuss just that but let’s start off with a fact. Snapdragon 765 chipset series is a successor to the Snapdragon 730 series which was announced earlier this year.

Talking about the basics, Snapdragon 765 has an eight-core Qualcomm Kryo 475 CPU (a major upgrade over the Kryo 470 CPU found in Snapdragon 730) which can be clocked at up to 2.3 GHz. There’s now also a new Adreno 620 GPU on board, which will offer 20% improved graphics performance on your next mid-range smartphone.

The one crucial component that completes the Snapdragon 765 chipset, however, is the company’s new Snapdragon X52 Modem-RF system (a step above the older-gen X50 5G modem but still below the X55 5G modem). It has been designed to deliver download speeds of up to 3.7 Gbps and upload speeds of up to 1.6 Gbps.

In the official press release, Alex Katouzian, senior VP and GM, mobile, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. said, “Our expanded portfolio, including Snapdragon 765 and 765G has the potential to make 5G accessible to billions of smartphone users around the world and help enable experiences like high-speed gaming, intelligent multi-camera capture, and all-day battery life on a global scale.”

Snapdragon 765 supports all key regions and frequency bands including 5G mmWave and sub-6 GHz, 5G SA and NSA modes, TDD and FDD with Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), global 5G roaming and support for multi-SIM, as per the official press release. The chipset also comes baked with Qualcomm’s new 5th-gen AI Engine, which packs a Hexagon Tensor accelerator and a low-power Sensing Hub.

Also, the Snapdragon 765 chipset enables 4K HDR video capture and streaming. It allows users to seamlessly switch between multiple lenses – be it a telephoto, wide or ultra-wide lens. Finally, there’s aptX Adaptive audio and Quick Charge AI (helps prolong battery life) support on board as well.

As you may already know by now, the Snapdragon 765 chipset also has a gaming-centric Snapdragon 765G variant. Qualcomm has bumped up the GPU clock speed in this variant, offering you 10% faster graphics rendering as compared to the standard 765 SoC. The AI Engine on this chipset is capable of 5.5 Tera Operations per second (TOPS) and it’s packing features from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Elite Gaming suite as well.

So, as you can see, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765 chipset brings meaningful upgrades over its predecessor. Xiaomi has already confirmed that Redmi K30, which launches next week, will be the first smartphone to feature this new chipset. However, HMD Global, Oppo, and Realme have also confirmed that they will release Snapdragon 765-powered premium mid-range phones early next year. So, are you excited for the onslaught of 5G and some new attractive mid-range phones?

- Hitarth Langaliya