Qualcomm Unveils New Quad-Core Snapdragon S4 Play Processors for Entry Level Smartphones

The neat thing about the fast pace of technology is that yesterday's high-end hardware eventually (and usually pretty quickly) trickles down into budget territory, a point Qualcomm's new Snapdragon S4 Play processors underscore. New to the Snapdragon S4 Play lineup are a pair of quad-core chips for entry-level smartphones: MSM8225Q and  MSM8625Q.

"The MSM8225Q and MSM8625Q processors incorporate quad-core CPUs and are the upgraded software compatible variants of the highly successful Snapdragon S4 Play MSM8225 and MSM8625 processors, which both feature dual-core CPUs and dual SIM support," Qualcomm explains. "The quad-core variants will support LPDDR2 memory, increasing the bus bandwidth for improved features such as 720p display and 720p video encode and decode."


Both processors support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and FM connectivity using the Qualcomm Atheros AR6005 and WCN2243 chips. Don't worry about memorizing all the modern numbers and chip derivatives; the bottom line is that quad-core computing is about to become commonplace on even budget smartphones, let along high-end devices.

Qualcomm says it expects to ship its new Snapdraong S4 Play and Plus processors in the first quarter of 2013.