Why Microsoft is using old Snapdragon processors

[pureview_lvr]

If Android Phones can use latest Processors why not Windows Mobiles. Being always back in hardware won't be good for Lumia Phones in long term

As its all about os requirements.
Windows phone really doesn't need powerful spec. Sheet
And have you find any problems with windows phone performance using current processors which are snapdragon 200,400,800 and previous s4 soc.
Regarding smoothness, stability ,app loading time...have you found any big issues. Its all about need of hardware to particular os and it fulfil wp requirement.

WP os designed in that way as it need minimum hardware......and we seen from 2-3 years its performance is even better than android in terms of smoothness.

Android is bloated and it needs too much ram and processing power to perform well....and its hardware requirement is more than wp.
And Microsoft is intelligent they know exactly which os they made and how to execute it in particular hardware.

Nothing too much in it. LOL

 

[tgp]

As mentioned above, there's a long lead time on chips in terms of hardware development.

It takes a long time to design the phone's hardware and the SOC comes first. You can't really design a new handset and slap whatever current chip is available into it the same way you might do with a desktop setup.

If Android Phones can use latest Processors why not Windows Mobiles. Being always back in hardware won't be good for Lumia Phones in long term

This reply was my first thought Pete when I read your post. Why can Samsung, LG, and other OEMs utilize the latest SoC, but not Nokia/Microsoft Mobile? Do they not have the same lead time?

 

[kklemn]

well, for the bottom end range it's quite simple: i bet that 99% of people who buys low end mobile phone doesn't care what is under the hood. what matters is how it looks, how fluid it is, camera, battery life and apps. Therefore to make low end phones with latest CPUs and with 25% added to the price is dumb.

However on the high end they have quite a mess... nokia used to introduce phones in 1st half of the year. it's roughly half a year after introduction of new CPUs. that means a little cheaper units, and more time to prepare the hardware to be completely compatible. but the downside is, that enthusiasts that buy high end device rather wait for other vendors to introduce new phones with newer CPUs... i think that MS is planning on changing the strategy to release new high ends at the same time as samsung and apple does.

 

[colinkiama]

If Android Phones can use latest Processors why not Windows Mobiles. Being always back in hardware won't be good for Lumia Phones in long term

1) Phones made by other OEMS on windows phone use those processors.
2) Windows Phone needs to be optimised to use new processors. There Microsoft needs to update the OS to support more chipsets.
3) Microsoft themselves are making the most put of the current chipsets they have now (sensor core, hey cortana, lumia camera 5.0 and even the dual core s4 phones getting Windows 10) what's the point of using a new processor if there really aren't going to be any new features that come with it. It would just be faster. That's it. That's probably why Microsoft is waiting for Windows 10 to release the flagships because only the 810 able to handle continuum well.
My advice for you now is but from another OEM now or getting a Windows 10 device from Microsoft

 

[Rezelius]

While I don't disagree that Windows Phone can run on less powerful processors than what Android requires, I do think Microsoft needs to put more effort into what they present to the consumer. A majority of consumers don't even know what the specs mean, they just "know" that bigger numbers means better because that is what they are told.

While I don't have any issue with the lower end Lumias carrying an older model processor, the Flagship phones should be carrying the latest and greatest if for no other reason than to "keep up with the Jones". As Windows fans, we KNOW what the platform is capable of, but the average consumer buys what they are used to and unless there is some sort of "Shiny" aspect to new Lumias, I don't know how they expect to grow their userbase.

 

[RobbieRobski]

The best answer I could guess at this point is that. They wanted to focus on the mid range lower cost market because they new what they had in store for windows 10, which should be able to support the highest end. My hope is that once windows 10 phone finally releases that we will have a flagship that will truly have first class hardware that can match or beat the specs of any android flagship.

 

[Yugiro]

LOL! Majority of people buying phones don't do research. They buy what's on the table and how the seller do their sales pitches. If people do their research before buying the phone, they have found out that the quality of the phone they are buying is sub par to its price even if it is cheap. They should have found out that most of the low end phones that is more popular now are really crappy. I know, I have seen them in the service centers.
People blindly go by the numbers in the specification but doesn't have any idea what is the advantage of 810 over 800, and if the phone really have the edge having the 810 processor.

 

[peachy001]

Amen to that. The new flagships coming out better be things of beauty with some really amazing things on offer design wise. Look at the latest galaxy (edge in particular) and the lg g4; they're beautiful. If MS releases plain ol' slabs similar to icon, etc they will be doomed to failure right out of the gate. They refinery need a "wow factor."

Have you seen the Turing phone, or the Blackberry one? Both look phenomenal to me. I can't help but think MS will fumble the 940. I have noted some strong hints that it may be a blend of the 830 and 640.

 

[Somerichs]

I just looked them up after seeing your post. The Turing isn't necessarily my cup of tea, design wise, but it is a beauty and it's certainly eye-catching. That new android blackberry looks great, too.

Hoping for a super sexy MS flagship phone that can sit proudly next to the latest iphones, galaxy's and G4s of the world.

And, even if it doesn't "need it need it," it does need the latest and greatest processor, too. No question about it. If they're gonna sell it as premium, it needs to look the part, spec-wise. Simple as that.

Bring it Microsoft!

 

[neo158]

People who do proper research before buying phones cares. It's not about what's enough, it's about future proofing the phones.

We all did proper research before we bought our phones, unless you're stating that WP users are idiots and we didn't do our research first?

If this were Android we were talking about then that would be true. However, we're talking about WP and Microsoft have stated that ALL WP8.1 devices can upgrade to W10M, it's up to the manufacturers to provide the update for their phones but we know for sure that the Lumia range WILL get the update.

 

[noersetiawan]

Ignorance. Nobody can deny that Windows Phone can run better even on older SoC, and having latest SoC is redundant, but that's only after they actually try the phone. Microsoft fails to see this trend in market, even non techies know that bigger number is better. I don't know about other market but here, Lumia phone have half the specifications for similar price. Those Chinese phone are really dead cheap, and no, not some shady brand but the big ones, Lenovo, Xiaomi, etc. Most people prefer an Octa Core and 2GB RAM phone from these brand instead of a quad core and 1GB RAM Lumia 640, which cost 30% more. They don't even understand differences between SoC, what they know is SD410>SD400, Octa-core>Quad-Core, 2GB>1GB, for only 70% of the price. No contract, fully unlocked. This happen in low end and mid end market, which is where Microsoft seemingly spend their effort the most, but just don't do well enough, and won't, unless their strategy changed.

 

[peachy001]

I just looked them up after seeing your post. The Turing isn't necessarily my cup of tea, design wise, but it is a beauty and it's certainly eye-catching. That new android blackberry looks great, too.

Hoping for a super sexy MS flagship phone that can sit proudly next to the latest iphones, galaxy's and G4s of the world.

And, even if it doesn't "need it need it," it does need the latest and greatest processor, too. No question about it. If they're gonna sell it as premium, it needs to look the part, spec-wise. Simple as that.

Bring it Microsoft!

Amen to that!

I genuinely cannot understand why anyone would want anything but the best processor in a flagship. The argument that WP is "buttery smooth" drives me potty. Sure, there are elements of the OS that run real smooth and zippy, but don't tell me my 920 has the quickest camera, the quickest app performance. I can hear the cries now "but Peachy001, your 920 is over 2yrs old you can't expect it to open the camera app in a flash". Surely that backs up the argument for getting the best specs now, because I may be bunking up with it for at least 2yrs. The fact is, the people that demand the best specs do it because they want something that will encode and upload videos quickly, do all the demanding tasks with ease.

The clue is in the names:
Top of the range
Mid range
Low end

The notion that Android "needs" the specs, but we don't is crazy. We need to be able to capture the good will of the tech journalists and tech types. "but normal users don't buy based on specs", my father does not buy on specs, but he was rocking a 3310 until two years ago. But normal people are swayed by salesmen. The trouble is some knowledge does trickle down from the journalists and the geeks. Family members will often pick up bits from hearing me or others say odd bits. They will listen to the people at the store that told them it did exactly what they need based on it having a "superfast" processor or "tons" of storage, or it is the "latest" model with the newest chips. If you are buying wine/chees/classic cars or works of art then you can be forgiven for aiming for the older product. If you are buying tech, then you want the newest and latest.

If I am locking myself into a 2yr contract, then you can bet your mortgage on me wanting something that will age slowly and be cutting edge for as much of that two years as possible.

Will MS use the 820 Snapdragon in the Cityman or Talkman? Not in my opinion, but I wish they would. They could certainly do with the kudos.

 

[Hoangboy]

well, the S410 is nothing better than S400 except the 64bit compatibility.

Most budget phone do not have over 1-2GB, so there's no benefit in using the new chipset.

The Cortex A-53 in S410 is pretty useless, nothing really stand out compare to S400, better wait for the next Gen, maybe a S430 with Cortex A-72

 

[trivishal]

Anybody know about Snapdragon 610 processor? Just curious why it's not out even after it's announcement a year ago

 

[BCrosby2109]

If BLU can create not 1 but 2 windows phones using the snapdragon 410 cpu and make them affordable being a small company compared to MS then MS should be able to do the same at a lower price point. Not sure they have a clear plan for the direction of their phone business. Hope they come up with a great flagship for WP 10 or they will really start to loose market share and loyal users.

 

[EddyKilowatt]

I know that's the party line and all, but the guys who actually test phones beg to differ:

System Performance - The Microsoft Lumia 640 Review

Dead last not just on some arcane benchmarks, but on actual browser performance.

 

[Raian Levy]

Why Microsoft is using old snapdragon processor ( such as old snapdragon 200 instead of snapdragon 210 on lumia 540, old snapdragon 400 instead of new snapdragon 410 in Lumia 640) . Which processors do you think that Lumia 740 and 840 would support? I expect Snapdragon 610 processor for Lumia 740 and Snapdragon 620 processor for Lumia 840 would be great? What do you think ? And I have heard Snapdragon 615 processor heats a lot and not so nice performance giving mid range processor? Should Lumia Smartphones skip this Snapdragon 615 processor in mid range smartphones?

They still use them because they perform well

 

[etad putta]

well, the S410 is nothing better than S400 except the 64bit compatibility.

Most budget phone do not have over 1-2GB, so there's no benefit in using the new chipset.

The Cortex A-53 in S410 is pretty useless, nothing really stand out compare to S400, better wait for the next Gen, maybe a S430 with Cortex A-72

The 410 runs cooler, has a better radio, and better graphics. The fact it's not used in the 640 or 640 xl is a joke. It should have been the bare minimum in these devices. My new zte maven has a 410 and it's a $50 phone. Works quite well also!

 

[colinkiama]

My new zte maven has a 410 and it's a $50 phone. Works quite well also!

Because they have to use it to run lollipop well without spending so much time on optimisation.

 

[etad putta]

Because they have to use it to run lollipop well without spending so much time on optimisation.

Well at least they went the extra mile on a $50 phone. Microsoft would rather put that extra couple of dollars they saved by using the old 400 in their pocket. It was a shame they used it in the 830 also. Maybe the next batch will show better judgement.