Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon chip aims to bring 5G to sub-$100 devices

Manufacturers lately have struggled to attract feature phone buyers in India, the world’s second-biggest smartphone market, primarily due to a lack of 5G models in the sub-$100 segment.

According to IDC, this entry-level segment in the Indian smartphone market declined by 14% year-on-year to 15% share, with 5.1 million smartphone units shipped in the first quarter. China’s Xiaomi and spin-off brand Poco continue to lead the segment. Overall, the country’s smartphone market grew 11% year-on-year to 34 million, dominated by the $200-$400 segment.

Qualcomm aims to fill the gap in the entry-level smartphone segment with this new chip. Xiaomi will launch its first device based on the 4s Gen 2 in India later this year, the chipmaker confirmed to TechCrunch.

TechCrunch recently reported that India telecom giant Jio was exploring the development of 5G feature phones, as millions of users in the country are not upgrading to smartphones.

The Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chip is a feature limited version of the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2, which was launched in June last year. Based on the 4nm process technology, the new chip includes an octa-core Kryo CPU, which comprises two performance cores that support up to 2GHz clock speed and six efficiency cores at up to 1.8GHz.

The Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 also lacks support for 5G networks in the non-stand-alone 5G deployment mode, which is currently widespread and allows telcos to offer high-speed connectivity using their existing network assets. The new chip instead supports connectivity through the stand-alone 5G deployment.

In India, Jio is the only telecom operator offering 5G networks in stand-alone mode. However, Airtel, the second largest telecom in the country, will launch a version in the future.

Kiranjeet Kaur, associate research director for IDC Asia/Pacific, told TechCrunch that while smartphone vendors in India “have been more aggressive” about delivering 5G phones at lower price points, the momentum is slower outside of the country.

Cost-cutting measures have helped Qualcomm reduce the price of its Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chip, enabling it for future lower-end 5G phones in India and other emerging markets.

“Some concerns remain — what is the benefit to this user to migrate to 5G, the additional cost for device/plan, or any compromises he needs to make in the smartphone feature set in order to have a lower-priced 5G smartphone?” Kaur explains. “But I do think more support from the component side will help OEMs and also drive more competition in the lower price segment to build some momentum here.”