After rolling out the high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, Qualcomm is now refreshing its affordable lineup with the Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 2 and the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4.

If you’re waiting to see these in action, you’ll have to wait a little longer. We expect the first wave of devices sporting these chips to land sometime next year.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 2 keeps 4G alive (for now)

First up is the Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 2. As the name suggests, this is a 4G-only affair, featuring a Snapdragon LTE Modem (Cat 13) capable of 390Mbps down and 150Mbps up. It feels a bit like a blast from the past, built on a somewhat dated 6nm process node, though that is still a significant step up from the 11nm node of the previous generation.

On the camera front, the chip uses a Qualcomm Spectra Triple 12-bit ISP. This allows for simultaneous 13+13+5MP setups or a single 108-megapixel capture. However, don’t expect 4K recording here; video capture is strictly capped at 1080p and 60 frames per second.

Qualcomm has also managed to pack in some robust multimedia features for the price segment. Under the hood, the Kryo CPU is clocked up to 2.9GHz, which the chip manufacturer claims offers a 51 % performance jump over the Gen 1 silicon. The graphics get a bump, too, with the enhanced Adreno GPU offering 20% faster graphics and capable of driving 1080p displays at a smooth 120Hz.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s 4G Gen 2 product brief

Beyond raw performance, the processor includes the Qualcomm Aqstic audio codec and supports aptX Adaptive, which should help keep Bluetooth audio latency in check. Qualcomm is also touting some “AI-enabled assistance” here, specifically for multi-mic far-field detection and echo cancellation to clean up calls in noisy spots.

And when the battery runs dry, there’s support for Quick Charge 3.0, which can supposedly hit an 80% charge in 35 minutes, though actual speeds will obviously depend on the Android OEM.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 brings 5G upgrade

Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 — apparently skipping the Gen 3 moniker altogether — ushers the series into the modern era. Unlike its sibling, this chip comes from a much more efficient 4nm foundry, signaling better battery life for entry-level 5G devices.

In terms of connectivity, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 rocks a Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF System (Release 16) capable of hitting downlink speeds up to 2.5Gbps. Performance duties are handled by two Kryo cores clocked at 2.3GHz, backed by six efficiency cores at 2.0GHz.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 product brief

Perhaps most crucially, the Qualcomm chipset supports faster LPDDR5 RAM (up to 3200MHz) and 2-lane UFS 3.1 storage. That memory upgrade is a significant win for this segment, as it should make daily user-interface navigation feel much faster than the 6s model. It also supports the newer Quick Charge 4+ standard, promising a 0% to 50% top-up in just 15 minutes.

For photos, it drops to a Spectra Dual 12-bit ISP but gains Hardware-based Multi-Frame Noise Reduction or MFNR and AI-enhanced low-light technology to clean up grainy night shots, features that used to be exclusive to higher-tier chips. Like the 6s, it handles 108-megapixel cameras and 120Hz displays, but video recording remains limited to 1080p/60fps.

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