Qualcomm 215 brings performance and battery gains for affordable smartphones

Ben Schoon | Jul 9 2019 - 7:06 am PT

Qualcomm powers a huge number of Android smartphones, including those that cost very little to consumers. Today, the Qualcomm 215 Mobile Platform has gone official, and it promises some major gains for ultra-affordable smartphones.

The two biggest gains for the new Qualcomm 215 Mobile Platform are performance and battery life. Qualcomm says that the new chipset can deliver up to 50% better CPU performance versus the previous generation. It’s also the first 200-series Qualcomm chip to offer support for 64-bit.

Further, battery life should see improvements with the Hexagon DSP and Adreno 308 GPU for better efficiency when listening to music or watching video. Charging also sees a huge improvement with Qualcomm Quick Charge support that’s up to 75% faster than a normal charger.

Qualcomm also says that this new chip supports NFC payments on Android, cameras up to 13MP, Dual-ISP for dual-camera support, 1080p video capture, HD+ displays, EVS voice calls, Dual-SIM and Dual-VoLTE, and Wi-Fi 802.11ac. Devices with this new platform are expected to arrive in the second half of 2019.

New Qualcomm 215 Mobile Platform Raises the Bar for Mass Market Devices

Designed to Support 64-bit CPU, Dual-ISPs, and Multi-Day Battery Life

JUL 9, 2019 SAN DIEGO

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), announced the newest addition to its 2-series, the Qualcomm® 215 Mobile Platform. This platform aims to bring leading mobile experiences to entry-level smartphone buyers who need reliable, lasting performance.

“Featuring a 64-bit CPU and dual-ISPs, the Qualcomm 215 Mobile Platform is a significant milestone for the expansion of the entire mobile industry,” said Kedar Kondap, vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We’re raising the bar for mass market devices and enabling experiences that were never before possible in the 2-series.

Performance and Battery Life [1]

Featuring four ARM Cortex-A53 cores, Qualcomm 215 is designed to deliver up to 50% increased CPU performance compared to the previous generation. This introduction of the first 64-bit CPU in the 2-series signifies a big boost in performance and offers better device longevity via support for modern 64-bit applications. In order to deliver lasting performance, Qualcomm 215 features an integrated Qualcomm® Hexagon™ DSP engineered to support up to 5+ days of music playback, as well as Qualcomm® Adreno™ 308 GPU, display and video processing engines supporting up to 10+ hours of video playback. Qualcomm 215 also supports Qualcomm® Quick Charge™ technology, which is engineered to allow users to charge up to 75% faster than traditional implementations, allowing for lower power and thermal dissipation, and reduced charge times, without virtually any performance tradeoffs.

Entertainment

Qualcomm 215 features dual ISPs, a first in the 2-series, which means it can support dual camera. With support from our 3^rd party ecosystem, dual cameras can enable optical zoom and depth sensing, resulting in overall improved detail rich photos. It’s capable of capturing images up to 13 megapixels photos. The Qualcomm 215 is the first to support HD+ resolution displays in the 2-series where it boasts wider aspect ratios so users can browse more, watch more and have a better all-around viewing experience. And thanks to the Adreno 308 GPU, Qualcomm 215 boosts up to 28% increased gaming performance compared to the previous generation enabling smooth graphics for casual gaming.

Connectivity

For superior cellular connectivity at home or on the go, the Qualcomm 215 featuring the integrated Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X5 modem supports LTE Cat 4 with Carrier Aggregation for faster data rates and download speeds up to 150Mbps. This is the first platform in the 2-series to support EVS Voice calls (“Ultra HD Voice Calls”) and Dual Sim with Dual Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) allowing for the freedom to use multiple SIMs for concurrent high-quality 4G LTE voice and data, separation of work and personal accounts, and optimize cellular connectivity costs taking advantage of multiple plans.

The Qualcomm 215 Mobile Platform debuts the following “firsts” in the 2-series:

64-bit CPU
Dual-ISP
Supports up to 13MP photo capture
Support for Full HD (1080p) video capture
Support for HD+ resolution display
Hexagon DSP for audio and sensor processing
Support for Dual SIM with Dual VoLTE
EVS voice calls
Wi-Fi 802.11ac
Support for NFC Payments on Android

“We are excited to continue to work with Qualcomm Technologies to expand our smartphone product portfolio and raise the bar for mass market devices by leveraging their latest leading technologies in the Qualcomm 215 Mobile platform,” said Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy, vice president, Vingroup. “We look forward to working together to bring exciting and improved mobile experiences to more consumers around the world.”

Commercial devices based on Qualcomm 215 are expected to be available in second half 2019. For more information and specifications for these mobile platforms, visit link.