Qualcomm processors are found in mobile devices and wearables selling in large quantities, some boards and modules from embedded systems companies such as Inforce Computing and Intrinsyc, as well as it own 96Boards compliant DragonBoard 410c and DragonBoard 600c development boards, but it’s hard to find them in many other products, and few crowdfunding campaign feature Snapdragon processors, as Qualcomm may not be willing to work with smaller companies and startups. The company has made some progress in that regards with their partnership with Allwinner to allow smaller Chinese companies to manufacture Snapdragon based Tablets, and their newly introduced Snapdragon 410E and 600E processors targeting embedded systems and IoT applications, available from Arrow Electronics without questions asked, and with long term availability for 10 years, i.e. until 2025 based on available of Snapdragon 410 mobile version.
Snapdragon 410E (APQ 8016E) specifications:
- CPU – Quad ARM Cortex A53 @ up to 1.2GHz per core with both 32-bit and 64-bit support
- GPU – Adreno 306 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.0/2.0/1.1, OpenCL 1.1e (Android only), DirectX 9.3 (Windows 10 only)
- System Memory I/F – LPDDR2/3 @ 533MHz single channel
- Storage I/F – SDIO 3.0 (UHS-I), eMMC 4.5
- Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n/ Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1LE, GPS
- Display Support – 1x MIPI-DSI up to 1920×1200 for LCD display; up to 1080p for external display
- Camera Support – MIPI-CSI interface and integrated ISP support up to 13MP camera
- Multimedia – 1080p @ 30 fps H.264 playback and capture
- USB – 2x USB 2.0 host interfaces
- Security – Qualcomm Snapdragon StudioAccess technology and Qualcomm SecureMSM platform
- Package – 12mm x 14mm (760NSP, 0.4mm pitch)
The processor is said to support Android, Linux and Windows 10. Potential target applications include connectivity for the smart home, industrial and home appliances, smart video camera systems, and digital media players and TV sticks.
You’ll find more details on Snapdragon 410E product page.
Snapdragon 600E (APQ 8064E) specifications:
- CPU – Quad core Krait 300 CPU @ up to 1.5GHz per core
- GPU – Adreno 320 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 3.0/2.0/1.1, OpenCL 1.1e (Android only)
- System Memory I/F – DDR3/DDR3L dual-channel 533MHz
- Storage I/F – eMMC 4.51, SATA 3.0, SDIO 3.0 (UHS-I)
- Connectivity – 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2×2 dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0LE/3.x
- Display Support – 2x MIPI-DSI interfaces up to 2048×1536 for LCD display; 1x HDMI up to 1080p for external display; 1x LVDS
- Camera Support – 3x MIPI-CSI interfaces and integrated ISP support up to 21MP & stereoscopic 3D cameras
- Multimedia – 1080p HD (MPEG-4, MPEG-2, H.264, DivX, VC-1, WMV-9), H.264 playback & capture
- Other Peripherals – 1x PCIe, 3x USB 2.0 host interfaces, 1x HSIC,
- Security – Qualcomm SecureMSM foundation, with secure boot process and Qualcomm Secure Execution Environment with ARM Trust Zone technology
- Package – 23mm x 23mm (784 BGA, 0.8mm pitch) RoHs compliant
Snapdragon 600E processor supports Android and Linux, and targets advanced robotics applications, connectivity for industrial and home applications, smart surveillance cameras (with up to 3 cameras), and media players & TV dongles.
You may want to visit Snapdragon 600E product page to get more information.
You can already purchase Snapdragon 410E on Arrow Electronics for $17.28 for one unit, and as low as $11.50 per unit for 1K order. Snapdragon 600E will be available a little latter.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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Seems they are quite overpriced as they dont support 4K output and processing plus no support for H265, even if intention is not to be used in TV Box but at some other project for video processing
@Rodrigo
They are quite more expensive than equivalent Allwinner, Amlogic, or Rockchip processors, but maybe the price should be compared to what’s coming out of Freescale and TI due to their long term availability.
What is the state of Kernel drivers for this SoCs?
DDR3, USB 2.0 host 🙁 … that sounds quite old. If I would be designing a new board, it should have DDR4 and USB 3.0 – people will be comparing it with other boards and in near future USB 2.0 will not be really good from marketing point of view. Or, is it only my feeling?
@David
It should be pretty decent, as Dragonboard 410c is a 96Boards platform supported by Linaro.
You can check the latest software Reference Platform release @ http://www.96boards.org/blog/reference-software-platform-16-06-release/
Freedreno open source GPU driver is also supported.
@Robert
I think it depends what you want to design/sell. For many products people don’t know or/and don’t care what processor is used, they just want the product to work as advertised.
Qualcomm software is here:
https://wiki.codeaurora.org/xwiki/bin/QAEP/
MSM8916 is similar and it runs about $5-6 in China. APQ8016e is $10 in US from disti. So I suspect is will be $5-6 in China when someone starts stocking it.
You need to add ADV7533 ($1.25) to get HDMI output.
Qualcomm is targeted at phones, that is why their chips don’t have STB features.
A major feature of these chips is a GPU that can run OpenCL. Mali-4xx can not do that.
@Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) ” For many products people don’t know or/and don’t care what processor is used …”, that is absolutely true. Unfortunately, people do notice things like USB 2.0 / USB 3.0 and if they are comparing similar boards, USB 3.0 can be one of the factors to win. I do it too e.g. when buying motherboard, hard drive docking station, USB switch, … I would not buy USB 2.0 if I can have USB 3.0. Of course, it may depend on the product.
And there is no word on the temperature range the chips are operating.
@Jon Smirl
We are first time to touch APQ8016. After going through the spec, it is a bit difficult to specify one segment to approach. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks.