SD 710 vs SD 660 (1)

Snapdragon 710 Vs Snapdragon 660 Comparison – How Good Is The SD 700 Series?

Today, Qualcomm released the first SoC of the latest Snapdragon 700 series. The Snapdragon 710 mobile platform covers the upper mid-end smartphone SoCs market. It’s positioned between the 800 and 600 series and focus on AR and AI. Previously, it was renamed from ‘Snapdragon 670‘ to ‘Snapdragon 710’. So, the question is:

How Good Is The New SD 710? Is it Worth Beating The Old Snapdragon 600?

SD 710 vs SD 660

Let’s find out in this Snapdragon 710 Vs Snapdragon 660 comparison:

Snapdragon 710 Vs Snapdragon 660 Comparison – Repeating The History Between SD 810 and SD 820

Snapdragon 710 Vs Snapdragon 660 - Specs

Snapdragon 710 Vs Snapdragon 660 – CPU Comparison

Starting with the CPU side, the Snapdragon 710 uses the new Kryo 360 octa-core layout with the 2 higher and 6 lower cores. The higher core frequency is 2.2GHz, meanwhile, the lower core frequency is 1.7GHz. However, the best part is that SD 710 is based on the 10nm LLP process similar to the high-end Snapdragon 845.

On the other side, Snapdragon 660 is based on the old Kryo 260 octa-core layout. The core division is 4 higher and 4 lower cores. The higher core frequency is 2.2GHz, meanwhile, the lower core frequency is 1.8GHz. It relies on the old 14nm LLP process.

Snapdragon 710 Vs Snapdragon 660

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Speaking of the numbers, the Snapdragon 660 has the upper hand because of four upper high-performance cores. Even the lower core frequency is slightly better (0.1GHz). However, there’s a twist in the performance. Snapdragon 710 overall performance (SPECint2000) has increased by 20% in comparison to Snapdragon 660. Why is that so? The credit goes to the 10nm process, resulting in better core performance.

More Higher Cores Doesn’t Always Mean Better Performance

In this case, the Snapdragon 600 series might not use larger cores anymore but a better process. Because the number of large cores may become the key indicator of the future division of the platform. This is where the history is repeated similarly to Snapdragon 820 vs Snapdragon 810, where more cores don’t mean better performance especially the high-performance ones.

Snapdragon 710 Vs Snapdragon 660 – GPU Comparison

The GPU is an essential part of the SoC, as it carries most of the graphical work such as video, photo editing, gaming, and even running apps. The new Snapdragon 710 uses the upgraded Adreno 616 (@750MHz). Meanwhile, Snapdragon 660 uses the old Adreno 512.

Adreno 616 GPU

Interestingly, the GPU performance improvement is much better than the CPU one. SD 710’s Adreno 616 is a 35% improvement over the SD 660’s Adreno 512. So yeah, witness smoother Android visuals, gameplay, and editings.

Snapdragon 710 Vs Snapdragon 660 – Other Specs Comparison

The vector unit (DSP) improves from the Hexagon 680 to the 685, while supporting a large number of common deep learning frameworks. Much to our surprise, it’s the same DSP used in Snapdragon 845. The camera (ISP image sensor) section is also worth mentioning. The new Spectre 250 of Snapdragon 710 and the Spectre 260 of the Snapdragon 845 are the same generations, supporting a maximum of 32 Megapixels. Previously, Spectre 160 used in Snapdragon 660 could only support up to 24MP.

In terms of memory, we have speculated that the CPU part has added a 1MB shared cache, which remains to be confirmed. Baseband is also a highlight of this SoC. The X15 is slightly lower than the X16 of the Snapdragon 835, but significantly ahead of the X12 of the Snapdragon 660, with a maximum of 800 Mbps downstream, and supports 4X4 MIMO and 2X2 Wi-Fi.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 Connectivity

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In the video encoding/decoding section, 10-bit HDR support is added. If you have related content source input and the display is also certified supporting HDR, the effect can be seen on the phone incorporating Snapdragon 710.

The new SoC introduces a multi-core AR Engine for on-device neural network processing and a Spectra 250 image signal processor that can perform multi-frame noise reduction in images. The new ISP has the necessary AI smartness to perform depth sensing for portrait mode shots with faux bokeh.

The New SD 700 family focuses on AI and AR

The last but not the least is the Snapdragon 710’s 10nm LPP process. Thanks to its help, the Snapdragon 710’s 4K video/game power consumption is reduced by 40%, and charging supports QC 4.0+. It almost matches the process level of this year’s top performing Snapdragon 845 which is also based on 10 nm.

The Highlights

  • 10nm LPP Process
  • 20% Overall Performance Increase Over SD 660
  • 35% GPU Increase Over SD 660
  • 40% Reduced Power Consumption
  • Supports Quick Charge 4.0+
  • Same gen DSP and ISP as of Snapdragon 845

Winner: Snapdragon 710

Our Verdict

 In the Snapdragon 710 Vs Snapdragon 660 comparison, obviously, Snapdragon 710 has a way upper hand in terms of everything, the performance, CPU, GPU, ISP, process, DSP, power-efficiency. The DSP, ISP (same generations) and the process match with that of Snapdragon 845. No doubt, Snapdragon 710 is a perfect alternative to Snapdragon 845 and 835 with a better focus on AR and AI. We can say that:

Snapdragon 710 is a lower 10nm version of Snapdragon 845 without compromising much of the performance and better power efficieny.

Indeed, it’s few bucks cheaper than Snapdragon 845, dedicated for upper mid-end smartphones. Let’s see which smartphone will be the first one to feature it. Till then, we will have the AnTuTu and Geekbench benchmark of the SoC with us. How well will it score, 150,000+ AnTuTu points? Comment!