Gadget Translator: Qualcomm Snapdragon 710

You’re well aware of the make and model of your phone – but do you know what’s inside it? Specifically, do you know what processor or chip it runs on?

Even if you aren’t a hardcore techie like many of us here are, it would still be crucial for you to be aware of the processor model that powers your device. Devices of today are extremely powerful and capable and by and large this is due to the processors and chips they run. The processor plays a key role in determining how functional and powerful your device can be. 

You might have the best-looking phone or phablet, but if its processor isn’t powerful enough or efficient enough for your needs and wants, it could leave you high and dry and really unhappy with it. And, moving forward – forewarned being forearmed – you could make a more informed choice when you pick your next device by including processor or chip model in your list of considerations. 

On that note, join us as we take a closer look at the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, one of the top processors nowadays, and see what makes it ideal for different use cases. The Snapdragon 710 is the heart of quite a few phones nowadays, including the Oppo Reno, the Realme 3 Pro, and the Nokia 8.1 – you might even be the proud owner of one of these units.

But before we take the plunge…

First the basics

We thought we’d simplify things further by taking you through some of the concepts associated with our topic today.

Firstly, the processor. A processor takes forward the “commands” you issue your device and executes them. 

Mobile phones of the past were kissing cousins of traditional landline phones, in the sense that they were really just devices for calling and, later, texting, albeit wirelessly. The opposite is true for modern devices, which are so feature-filled that calling and texting are functions that are only occasionally performed, and so powerful that some are beginning to outpace ordinary desktop computers and laptops. They have touchscreen displays, powerful hardware and software, storage for apps and data, wireless connections, and so on and so forth. The processor serves as the brains of this operation – coordinating everything and ordering everything else around in response to your own orders.

The processors of today are becoming ever more powerful and yet efficient. This is partly because they now incorporate more “cores”, or elements inside the processor which handle the interpretation of your instructions and their execution. The first processors began with single cores, but engineers took them forward by incorporating more and more cores in their devices. Dual-core devices were soon launched, and then quad-core (incorporating four cores) and hexa-core (six cores). Now there are octa-core (eight-core) devices.

Why this move towards developing multi-core devices? Because the more cores a device has, the faster it can multitask – the more rapidly it can execute your instructions while also doing other things. While you play a video, for instance, you could also be checking your Twitter feed on the side of your large-screened device and SMSing intermittently with your dad – and behind the scenes, your device’s processor has to help you do all those things and is also busy performing other functions, too, from managing battery life to maintaining signal strength, so you don’t have to do them yourself or pay attention to them.

The bottom line is that knowing what processor or chip a device utilizes is crucial for you to get a sense of how capable the device can be, and then you can decide whether you want to invest in such a device or get something less pricey but less capable, or pricier and more powerful.

Back to the 710

Now that we’ve gotten that out  of the way, let’s return to our feature of the Snapdragon 710. In a nutshell, the 710 is a powerful and capable chip that also happens to be quite power-efficient. 

When it was first introduced, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon lineup of chips was composed of the Snapdragon 400/200 series, for entry-level handsets; the Snapdragon 600 series, for mainstream models; and the 800 series, for flagship devices. The Snapdragon 700 series, as its name suggests, squeezed in between the 600 and the 800 series – and would thus be as power-efficient as the 600 while being almost as capable as the 800.

A closer look at the 710 will show what we mean. It incorporates many features that used to be found only in the high-end 845 processor. This impacts its power and capabilities.

For one: the 710 provides artificial intelligence or AI features similar to the 845 through integrating hardware and software better. Thanks to this integration, in terms of AI performance, the 710 gets AI-related processing – nowadays, employed to run a wide variety of tasks like ensuring you take great pictures – done twice as fast as the less capable 660 chip.

As regards multi-core usage, phones that use the 710 drive the more powerful cores during heavy use, but when they’re only being used for simple tasks like SMSing or web browsing, less powerful cores are used instead. This has the benefit of protecting power efficiency while bringing out top performance only when the user needs it.

Secondly, because of the “trickling down” of key technologies, the 710 is extremely efficient, making phones running it unlikely to overheat even during heavy usage such as gaming. Additionally, this puts less strain on the battery and helps it last longer on a charge. The 710 also supports rapid charging to help phone batteries charge faster when empty or near-empty.

Thirdly, because the 710 integrates advanced technologies pertaining to LTE data signal from the 845 processor, units running it enjoy a faster data and download speed than the 660 and have a wider coverage, especially when the signal is weak.

There are other characteristics and advantages of the 710, but we’ve chosen to focus on some of the top ones.

The bottom line

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 is quite a capable processor or chip when it comes to modern devices, yet it won’t burn through battery life as it goes about its business. 

Situated between the top-of-the-line 800-series and the middle-range 600-series, phones running this processor are powerful and smooth performers thanks to its AI capabilities and powerful cores. Even the most hardcore gamers will be served; phones with this chip won’t heat on extended high usage.

Units incorporating the 710 might just be worthy of your consideration when you’re in the market for a new device but are thinking twice about purchasing a range-topping device.