As the name suggests, the Snapdragon 678 is a slight update to the Qualcomm 675 before. You should consider the high-performance Kryo 460 CPU cores to run at 2.2GHz rather than the previous 2GHz part, and the Adreno 612 graphics can also run faster. In short: it can be much more suited to mobile gamers and intense applications. In addition to the features, the Snapdragon 678 comes with a Snapdragon X12 4G LTE modem that can force up to 600 Mbps of download speed and up to 150 Mbps of upload speed. It also supports features such as Licensed Supported Access (LAA), which will expand bandwidth by digging into the unregistered 5GHz spectrum. The modem does not allow connectivity to next-gen 5G networks, nor does it help next-gen Wi-Fi or Bluetooth technology, since support for these technologies is only restricted to Qualcomm’s first tier range. Qualcomm did not clarify when the Snapdragon 678 will be available, but the slight shift indicates that it won’t take too long to hit shipping smartphones. SoCs are often more relevant than they appear to be. With chips like Qualcomm’s own Snapdragon 765G dominating inexpensive flagships, the 678 could be the best choice for true mid-range and even low-end Android phones.
