Qualcomm Inc. today unveiled two new chips for midrange smartphones that promise to bring a significant boost in app performance, as well as potentially widen the adoption of on-device artificial intelligence.

Both products are systems-on-a-chip that incorporate multiple processing modules. The more powerful of the pair, the Snapdragon 730, is built around an eight-core Kryo 470 central processing unit that can reach a clock speed of up to 2.2 gigahertz. The CPU is based on an eight-nanometer architecture that makes it 35 percent faster than Qualcomm’s previous-generation silicon.

Qualcomm has paired the Kryo 470 with a new graphics card that can render app visuals 25 percent faster. And there’s also a coprocessor, the Hexagon 688, specifically designed for running machine learning models. The chipmaker claims that the module allows the Snapdragon 730 to provide up to twice as much computing power for AI algorithms than its predecessor.

The  inclusion of the coprocessor should bring midrange phones more up to par with flagships such as the Galaxy S10+ in the machine learning department. That in turn may make it more viable for developers to implement their apps’ AI features locally. Running neural networks directly on a device instead of in the cloud reduces latency and theoretically enables AI apps to work even without a reliable connection.

Qualcomm also prioritized machine learning in the Snapdragon 665, the other new product it debuted today. The chip is one rung lower on the price scale than the 730 and features a somewhat less powerful Hexagon coprocessor, but still provides double the AI performance of the model that preceded it.

It also features improvements in other areas. The Snapdragon 665 sports a more efficient graphics card that can run mobile games using 20 percent less power, supports download speeds of up to 600 megabits per second and offers maximum a upload rate of 150 megabits per second.

Qualcomm plans to start shipping the Snapdragon 655 and 730 in the middle of the year. The latter chip will come in two flavors: a base version and a beefed-up 730G edition that features virtually identical hardware, but clocks the graphics card higher to provide 15 percent more performance for mobile games. It also supports higher-resolution displays.

Photo: Qualcomm