Qualcomm has announced a new chipset designed for budget and lower mid-range Android handsets, and the goal is to make everyday phones feel quicker without draining battery life.
The Snapdragon 6s Gen 4 shifts to a 4nm process and a 4+4 CPU layout with four Cortex-A78 cores up to 2.4GHz and four Cortex-A55 at 1.8GHz.
Qualcomm reckons on a 36% CPU lift and a 59% GPU boost over the 6s Gen 3, plus support for 144Hz Full HD+, Variable Rate Shading, Vulkan 1.3 and Game Quick Touch.
Connectivity gets a boost too with the Snapdragon X62 for sub-6 and mmWave 5G, while Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4 round things out.
Making your cheap phone feel less…cheap
The rest of the spec sheet focuses on useful stuff that helps cheap phones feel less cheap.
You get support for up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage, and some brands may still include microSD for extra space. A dual 12-bit Spectra ISP can drive 200MP sensors and 2K video at 30fps. There is still no 4K recording, which is a shame, but a reasonable trade if it keeps costs in check. Quick Charge 4+ is supported for faster wired top-ups.
In day-to-day use, this should translate to smoother scrolling, steadier frame rates in lighter games, as well as better stamina on phones that don’t have massive batteries. The 144Hz ceiling also opens the door for snappier displays in price brackets that used to stick to 60 or 90Hz.
When you are comparing actual handsets, the current picks in the best cheap phones show how much a solid processor can extend the “feels fast” window over a two-year stint.
Phone makers will still choose how much of this capability to use. Some will lean into gaming with 120 or 144Hz screens, while others will focus on efficiency for longer runtimes. Either way, Snapdragon 6s Gen 4 pushes the floor higher, which is where most people actually buy, and where a smarter chip can make the biggest difference.
