More than 170 million smartphones with 5G support are running in India, but that figure almost doubles when you talk about feature phones, with over 320 million users still relying on these devices. The biggest reason for this gulf is the affordable nature of the feature phones and the fact that 5G phones don’t come cheap.
Qualcomm is here to change that pattern with the new Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset that it claims will be available on smartphones priced under $99 (Rs 8,200 approx) which will give the feature phone users the right appeal to upgrade.
IDC analysts claim the most affordable 5G phone in the country costs $120 (Rs 9,999 approx) which means the budget-conscious consumer doesn’t see the urge or a compelling reason to spend big on these phones.
MediaTek and UniSoc have tried their luck by focusing on the budget market, now Qualcomm seems confident enough to enter this space and look to garner a major chunk of these feature phone users.
Third Time Lucky?
Qualcomm is bringing this low-powered 5G chipset for budget smartphones and as the company claims, India is one of its main focus with this system-on-chip or mobile SoC. Xiaomi has already pitched itself to be one of the first brands to launch its phone with this Snapdragon 4nm chipset before the end of the year. The new chip with support for 5G promises lower latency for faster data speeds than what you get with a 4G phone.
The Snapdragon chipset supports dual frequency with NavIC on offer to help with localised navigation and security. It would be hard to expect the 4s Gen 2 to come with an NPU for AI features and the company shares the details which confirms our belief.
So, what can people expect with the upcoming Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset and what features will they get on a phone powered by this SoC? Qualcomm says the chip supports a FHD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate screen, you get support for UFS 3.1 storage and up to 8GB RAM for memory performance.
Qualcomm also mentions the chipset will provide all-day battery life with support for 40W charging speed thanks to Quick Charge 4.0 technology. And yes, the camera can support OIS which is unheard of in this price range.
Android Finally Tick
Google has tried its luck not one, not two and three times with Android One and then with Android Go to satisfy the performance needs of the budget consumers. Qualcomm is hoping that the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 (which sits below the 4 Gen 2) will give it the upgrades that will help the regular Android OS run effectively without pinching our pockets.
Qualcomm mentioned that the $99 price point could work out lower in select markets, which is why it is imperative that the Indian market’s $100 value is below the market range.
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