The first Snapdragon 6-series has the potential to make 5G accessible to more than 2 billion smartphone users around the world, with support for 4K HDR streaming and 120Hz displays.

Companies as HMD Global (Nokia), LG Electronics Motorola, SHARP, TCL, and Wingtech are among the first OEMs/ODMs to show strong support for the Snapdragon 690, and are expected to announce smartphones designed to offer users, says Qualcoom, “vibrant entertainment experiences”. The support from equipment manufacturers is important because, as Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm Incorporated’s president, says “driving the expansion of 5G into the Snapdragon 6-series has the potential to make 5G accessible to more than 2 billion smartphone users around the world.”

The 5G experience has, to a certain extent, been limited to high-end models of smartphones, but that’s about to end. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 5G Mobile Platform, the company’s  first 5G mobile platform in the 6-series, is designed to make 5G user experiences even more broadly available around the world, as it enables mobile OEMs to bring 5G affordable devices to the marketplace.

David McQueen, Research Director at tech market advisory firm ABI Research, says that “the Snapdragon 690 joins the 800-series and 700-series on Qualcomm’s roster of 5G platforms, expanding its offer across multiple tiers with this latest addition bringing the 5G experience down to even lower price points. The new platform will undoubtedly allow OEMs to expand 5G deep into their smartphone portfolios, delivering more cost-effective and affordable products, which will drive the proliferation of and significantly increase the addressable market for 5G smartphones.”

4K HDR (true 10-bit) support and 120hz displays

“With over 375 5G designs launched or in development to date using Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G solutions, we are driving the proliferation of 5G across multiple tiers to make the next generation of camera, artificial intelligence, and gaming experiences more broadly available,” said Cristiano Amon during the announcement of the Snapdragon 690 5G.

The Snapdragon 690 brings many of the most in-demand premium mobile experiences to the 6 series. An improved Qualcomm Spectra 355L ISP supports high-megapixel capture, plus fast autofocus and noise reduction technology for sharper, brighter, vivid 4K HDR (true 10-bit) video recording support in over a billion shades of color. Snapshots at up to 192 Megapixels are also available. And now, with 5G connectivity, 4K HDR streaming delivers vibrant, immersive entertainment.

Smooth graphics and imagery are also going to be present, thanks to the Adreno 619L GPU, with up to 60% improvement from the predecessor, enabling seamless graphics rendering, while the improved FHD+ display at 120 Hz supports smooth UI experiences.

Smart camera and video and AI based imaging

Snapdragon 690 is equipped with the latest 5th generation Qualcomm AI Engine, enabling smart camera and video, voice translation, advanced AI based imaging, and AI enhanced gaming experiences. Additionally, Snapdragon 690 features a Qualcomm Kryo 560 CPU that delivers up to 20% performance improvement compared to its predecessor. The new Snapdragon X51 5G Modem-RF System is optimized for the 6-series platform to bring multi-gigabit speeds and superior 5G coverage to the 6-series for the first time.

The equipment manufacturers mentioned above confirmed they will have devices based on the Snapdragon 690 but HMD Global, that earlier this year was ther first manufacturer to leverage the power of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G 5G Modular Platform in a smartphone, delivering its vision of a truly future-proof global 5G experience with the Nokia 8.3 5G, seemed particularly interested.

Nokia and ZEISS tech at – more – affordable prices

According to Juho Sarvikas, chief product officer, HMD Global, ““Now with the Snapdragon 690 Mobile Platform, we are excited that our vision of future-proof 5G and global 5G roaming can be made more accessible to even more fans of Nokia phones. You can expect 5G worthy experiences powered by our PureDisplay and ZEISS Imaging innovation, now at an even more affordable price. We can’t wait to share more details on this exciting product with you, stay tuned.”

The Nokia 8,3 5G mixes the technology from the company with Android 10 and the very latest technology and ZEISS Optics in a camera able to capture it all, from close-ups, epic ultra-wide landscapes, vibrant portraits and everything in between, the PureView quad camera: the ultra-detail 64 MP main camera, a specialized low light ultra-wide camera plus advanced depth and macro cameras. ZEISS cinematic effects are also built in to help make every video epic, says Nokia. Now, just imagine all this is made available, in a near future, in a smartphone… for a more affordable price.

Devices based on Snapdragon 690 are expected to be commercially available in the second half of 2020. With the new addition of Snapdragon 690, there will be more than 1,800 devices either announced and in development in the 6-series.