Mobile games have become demanding when it comes to CPU and GPU requirements. Games such as PUBG, Call of Duty Mobile, and Fortnite all require much more compared to games such as Candy Crush. Chipmakers seeing this need for extra processing power have made specially-designed chipsets to handle these games.
For Qualcomm, its gaming chipsets have a “G” at the end of their names which denotes the chipset has select Snapdragon Elite Gaming features and graphical boost compared to the standard processors. Two of its chipsets that fall into this category are the Snapdragon 730G announced in April 2019 and the more recent Snapdragon 720
The Snapdragon 730G powers quite a number of phones already such as the Samsung Galaxy A80 and the POCO X2. The Snapdragon 720G, on the other hand, is the chipset inside the spanking new Realme 6 Pro and will also power the Redmi Note 9 Pro. So how do these two chipsets compare to one another? Let’s find out below.
CPU: Both chipsets are built on the same node and feature the same processor cores. While the Snapdragon 720G does have a higher clock speed, it is still slightly less powerful than the Kryo 470 of the Snapdragon 730G. However, the difference will not be noticeable for most people.
GPU: The two processors have the same GPU but the Snapdragon 730G is better simply because Qualcomm says it has a 15% boost compared to the Snapdragon 730’s own GPU which is also the Adreno 618. Unfortunately, Qualcomm has refused to mention the clock speed of the GPU in all three SoCs. Also, the Snapdragon 730G also supports 4K HDR10, unlike the Snapdragon 720G that supports just HDR10.
DSP: The DSP for the Snapdragon 720G is higher and it comes with the new Qualcomm Sensing Hub that is present in the Snapdragon 865. This is an improvement over the Always-Aware Hub of the Snapdragon 730G.
The Snapdragon 730G supports displays with a maximum resolution of QHD+ compared to the Snapdragon 720G that maxes out at FHD+. However, that is not a big deal as a phone with a QHD+ screen will surely not have a Snapdragon 700 series processor.
Others: The Snapdragon 720G does win in some areas. It has Bluetooth 5.1, unlike the Snapdragon 730G that has Bluetooth 5.0. It also has NavIC support which is India’s own satellite location system. Slightly surprising is that it only supports Quick Charge 4.0 while the Snapdragon 730G supports Quick Charge 4+.
Conclusion
The Snapdragon 730G is definitely the more powerful chipset with its slightly better CPU and an even better GPU. It also has a more than capable GPU that should handle games without a hiccup. However, the Snapdragon 720G is close on its heels with respect to performance.
When it comes to choosing a phone powered by either of these chipsets, what will actually determine what you will buy will be other parameters such as price, cameras, software support, battery capacity, and even design. However, performance will not be a huge difference.
