When we talk about Qualcomm and the future of mobile processors all roadmaps and leaks seem to naturally revolve around the high-end 800 series chipsets. The 810 is just now making its way on to actual production devices and the new 14nm manufacturing technology is really exciting to say the least.

However, while beastly hardware moves the industry forward it is the mid and low range that truly fuels it and powers the majority of devices out there. Qualcomm knows this better than most and is working hard to keep up with market demands and offer feature rich, affordable silicon at budget-friendly prices.

This is precisely the goal with the latest Snapdragon 415, 425, 618 and 620. These chips are all about the added value and bringing advanced technology to mid-range devices. Qualcomm is stressing that the new models will bring high-end features to the every level of their product stack.

First up are the Snapdragon 415 and 425. Both of them replace the traditional quad-core design of the 400 series with a more capable eight-core Cortex A53 setup. Both are also 64-bit and support the ARMv8 instruction set and are based on current 28nm manufacturing technology.

This in itself is a formidable step up in performance, but the chip giant has packed in a few more additional goodies. The two new 400-series members now have Quick-charge 2.0, as well as dual image signal processors (ISPs), which are supposed to allow much better cameras in mid-ranged devices.

The graphics ship has also been bumped up to the Adreno 405, which is not that more powerful than the Adreno 306 in the Snapdragon 410, but does offer hardware decoding for 1080p H.264 video and an external display resolution support of up to 1080p. The sole difference between the 415 and 425 models seems to be the LTE modem. On the lower end we have a X5 LTE modem, offering Cat. 4 speeds of up to 150Mbps, while the alternative chip comes with a X8 modem and twice the speed at 300Mbps.

The two new 600-series models seem to bring even more innovation to the family line. The Snapdragon 610 and 615 chips are not seeing a lot of manufacturer attention, with crowds either going for the 410 on the low end, which is not that different from the 610, or the 800 for more premium models. Qualcomm has surely realized this and is probably aiming to rekindle the series mid-range popularity with the new 618 and 620 models.

The big change here is that both new units use the brand new Cortex A72 cores, that are said to be twice as powerful than the A57. Naturally there are both 64-bit and are also built using a big.LITTLE configuration for optimal power-to-performance balance. The two chips also come with what is described as a "next-generation Qualcomm Adreno GPU". Qualcomm has not disclosed any information on this matter yet, but we will be sure to update you once the smoke clears.

The 618 and 620 models are both equipped with X8 LTE modems, capable of 300Mbps downloads and are built using a 28nm manufacturing process. Among the more interesting new features they bring to the family is 4K playback and capture support, along with 4K H.265 hardware decoding, previously limited to the high-end 800 series. The main difference between the two chips is that the 618 comes with a hexa-core setup (two A72 and four A53), whereas the 620 is octa-core(four A72 and four A53). Judging by ARM's promises, that latest chip might end up being the fastest the company has announced so far. Until the Cortex-A72-based Snapdragon 8xx arrives that is.

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The rumor mill followed Samsung's choice of chipset for the Galaxy S6 duo in great detail. Leaked benchmarks show that going with its in-house Exynos 7420 chipset was a solid decision. The chipset is built on the company's 14nm process and includes four Cortex-A53 and four Cortex-A57 cores.

The Galaxy S6 scored impressive results in AnTuTu, now the Galaxy S6 Edge has visited Geekbench. Both flagships use the Exynos 7420 and if these scores are correct, they will run laps around Snapdragon 810-based devices.

Qualcomm's intermediate top dog has the same processor setup, 4x A53 plus 4x A57, but is made on a 20nm process. It's really there to tide things over until Qualcomm's in-house CPU designs (dubbed Taipan) are ready.

Here's how the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge would stack up against some old and current competition. The LG G Flex 2 score is from when we first met the device at CES, so that was on pre-release software.

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GeekBench 3
Higher is better

Galaxy S6 Edge (Lollipop)
5375

LG G Flex 2 (Lollipop)
3929

HTC Nexus 9 (Lollipop)
3470

Galaxy Note 4 (Lollipop)
3394

Meizu MX4 Pro
3386

Motorola Nexus 6
3285

Samsung Galaxy S5
3011

HTC One (M8) (Lollipop)
2923

Sony Xperia Z3
2860

LG G3 (Lollipop)
2370

Of course, until we're holding a Galaxy S6 Edge in our hands we can't verify that the score is real. That day is fast approaching, the Galaxy S6 duo will be unveiled in early March.

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