Snapdragon 435 vs 425 Comparison and Performance Review

Two of the most popular devices, Redmi 4A and Redmi 4 (Redmi 4X) run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 and 435 processors respectively. While choosing a smartphone, you cannot afford to buy the one with a weaker processor. Even in budget devices, a phone with a better processor will perform faster and will not lag. Today, we will compare Snapdragon 435 vs 425 and find out which one is better and how much they differ in performance and other aspects.

Both Snapdragon 435 and 425 Processors belong to the low-budget Snapdragon 400 series. Snapdragon 435 is an octa-core processor with 8 ARM Cortex-A53 cores while 425 is a Quad-Core CPU with 4 Cortex-A53 cores. Both the Processors are clocked at 1.4GHz. Snapdragon 435 has the faster Adreno 505 GPU while 425 has Adreno 308 Graphics Processor. There are some other minor differences which we will discuss later in this article.

Let us get started by having a look at the specs of both Snapdragon 425 and 435. Later on, we will compare the Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 vs 425 on the basis of their benchmarks, general performance, gaming performance, and power efficiency.

If you’re also interested in the comparison of Snapdragon 625 vs 435 and/or Snapdragon 625 vs 430, then you should check out those articles as well.

    Snapdragon 435 Specification

Processor Name Snapdragon 435
Manufacturer Qualcomm
Series Snapdragon 400
Fabrication 28nm
Architecture 64-bit
Core Configuration 8 x A53 @1.4GHz
GPU Adreno 505
Modem X9 LTE Modem
DSP Hexagon 536
Memory Type LPDDR3 Single Channel
Quickcharge Support Quickcharge 3.0
Max Resolution Full HD 1080p

On February 11, 2016, Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 435 Processor. It is currently the best processor of the Snapdragon 400 series. It is based on the 28nm fabrication technique just like every other member of the Snapdragon 400 series. Snapdragon 435 is a 64-bit Octa-Core CPU with 8 ARM Cortex-A53 Cores. Coming to graphics, it has the Adreno 505 GPU just like the Snapdragon 430. Adreno 505 can support a display up to 1080p. Adreno 505 does handle the games pretty well, however not as good as Snapdragon 625’s Adreno 506. It has the Qualcomm’s X9 LTE Modem. This X9 LTE Modem is also used in the Snapdragon 625.

Coming to it’s Digital Signal Processor, Qualcomm is using Hexagon 536 in Snapdragon 435. This is the same DSP as that of the Snapdragon 425. The RAM of this System-on-chip is based on LPDDR3 Single-Channel Memory. This SOC also supports Qualcomm Quickcharge 3.0. However, it depends on the phone’s manufacturer if they want to include Fast Charging support or not.

    Snapdragon 425 Specification

Processor Name Snapdragon 425
Manufacturer Qualcomm
Series Snapdragon 400
Fabrication 28nm
Architecture 64-bit
Core Configuration 4 x A53 @1.4GHz
GPU Adreno 308
Modem X6 LTE Modem
DSP Hexagon 536
Memory Type LPDDR3 Single-Channel
Quickcharge Support Quickcharge 2.0
Max Resolution HD 720p

Snapdragon 425 too was launched on February 11, 2016, alongside Snapdragon 435. It is a 64-bit CPU which is based on the 28nm manufacturing process. Unlike Snapdragon 435, it has only 4 cores and that means it is a Quad-Core Processor. In this processor, Qualcomm is using 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores with a clock rate of 1.4GHz. It has the Adreno 308 Graphics Processing Unit which can support maximum screen resolution 720p (HD). Its Memory is Single-Channel and of LPDDR3 Type.

Snapdragon 425 has the Hexagon 536 DSP just like the Snapdragon 435. Coming to, fast charging, it supports Quickcharge 2.0 technology. However, your phone’s manufacturer may or may not provide fast charging. In low-budget devices, we generally don’t see fast charging support. Let us now move on to the comparison of Snapdragon 435 vs 425.

    Snapdragon 435 vs 425 Comparison: Which one is Better?

As we have seen the specification, many of you might have already guessed the difference in both these processors. If now, carry on reading to find out how well these actually perform in real-world. First, we will have a look at the benchmarks of Redmi 4 and Redmi 4A which run on these processors. Later, we will compare the general performance and gaming performance. At last, we will see how power efficient they are and how well they do in some other minor aspects.

Benchmarks

Snapdragon 435 vs 425 and Redmi 4X vs Redmi 4A Antutu Benchmark

In Antutu Benchmarks, Xiaomi Redmi 4X (Redmi 4 Indian Variant) scores around 42K points. This phone is based on the Snapdragon 435 Processor. While, Redmi 4A, which is based on Snapdragon 425 manages around 36k score in Antutu. There are mainly two major differences which result in a better score of Redmi 4X, more cores, and better GPU.

Snapdragon 435: 7/10

Snapdragon 425: 6.5/10

General Performance

In normal day to day life performance like switching apps, browsing, etc, you’ll not observe any significant differences in performance. However, while multitasking and running apps that utilize more cores, Snapdragon 435 will be faster. Though, you will not observe any lag in Snapdragon 425 based phone either.

Snapdragon 435: 7.5/10

Snapdragon 425: 7/10

Gaming Performance

Adreno 505 does a much better job when it comes to gaming. If a Snapdragon 435 device has 720p display (like Redmi 4X) then it would perform even better as Adreno 505 can support even Full HD Display. But when comparing a 1080p Snapdragon 435 device with a Snapdragon 425 device having 720p resolution, the gaming performance will be similar. Nonetheless, both the Adreno 505 and Adreno 308 GPU will be able to handle almost every game at 720p resolution with a good fps.

Snapdragon 435: 9/10

Snapdragon 425: 8/10

Power Efficiency

In terms of power efficiency, we mainly check the manufacturing process and cores that are used in the processor. In this case, both use the 28nm Fabrication process and Cortex-A53 cores. This means you can not expect very good battery life in either of these devices unless a higher battery is used (like Redmi 4). But, as both these processors have a very low clock frequency of 1.4GHz, there won’t be much heating and throttling issues. If you need a phone with good power efficiency, go with the Redmi Note 4X (Redmi Note 4 in India).

Snapdragon 435: 7/10

Snapdragon 425: 7/10

Other Features

At the end, let’s have a look at the Modem, DSP, Memory Type, Quick charging and other minor features. In some of these, either both the processors perform similarly or Snapdragon 435 does slightly better. This will result in the following scores.

Snapdragon 435: 8/10

Snapdragon 425: 7.5/10

Total

By taking the average of the above score, we arrive at the following final scores:

Snapdragon 435: 7.7/10

Snapdragon 425: 7.3/10

This suggests that Snapdragon 435 is better than the Snapdragon 425 considering the overall specs. Also, it provides more value for money as there’s only a slight price difference in the Snapdragon 435 and 425 devices. This is it for our Snapdragon 435 vs 425 comparisons.

    Final Verdict of Snapdragon 435 vs 425

In the end, I would like to conclude that you should prefer a Snapdragon 435 over a Snapdragon 425. Now, coming to the comparison of Redmi 4 and Redmi 4A, I will prefer Redmi 4 because of a better processor, higher battery capacity, metal body, better camera. Just by spending an of extra Rs. 1K or $15, you can have a phone which has a better overall specification.

But, if you’re on a low-budget, Snapdragon 425 devices like the Redmi 4A will do the job as well. In the end, it is your personal choice that which phone you need to go for.

Suggested Comparison: Snapdragon 435 vs Snapdragon 625 (Redmi Note 4 vs Redmi 4).

Given below is a list of Snapdragon 435 and 425 devices that have launched so far:

List of Snapdragon 435 Devices:

  • Redmi 4X (Redmi 4 in India)
  • Oppo A57

List of Snapdragon 425 Devices:

  • Samsung Galaxy On5
  • LG k8 (2017)
  • ZTE Blade A512



3 thoughts on “Snapdragon 435 vs 425 Comparison and Performance Review”

    • Redmi Note 4 is definitely better than Lenovo K6 Power due to its more efficient and powerful Processor. At 13K if you need a phone with a great camera, you can also go with the Huawei Honor 6X.

      Reply

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