Snapdragon 662 processor for an Android Headunit

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor has made its way into some Android headunits. These new processors are of an unknown quantity and come with many questions.

Snapdragon 662

Snapdragon 662 is a ‘mid-range’ 64-bit ARM SoC.

• The Snapdragon 662 is an Octa-core processor.
• It is made from four Kryo 260 Silver high-efficiency cores with a clock speed of 1.8 GHz.
  Coupled with four high-performance Kryo 260 Gold operating at 2 GHz
• The Kryo Silver and Gold cores are in the big.LITTLE configuration

Gold and Silver

The two ARM Cortex cores used in the Snapdragon 662 are called Kryo 260 Silver and Kryo 260 Gold. This naming convention sounds more pleasing to the consumers than the usual Cortex-A53 and Cortex-A73 code names. The cores are still ARM Cortex, but they are fast, current versions of these cores. With 8 packed in and running at around 2 GHz, it provides a good Android headunit experience.

RAM

The maximum (and expected RAM) configuration for the Snapdragon 662 is a vast 8 GB
RAM is dual channel mode LPDDR4X-3733 running at 1866 Mhz.
Due to the advanced 64-bit cores used to make the Snapdragon 662, the accessible RAM has increased substantially over the early design quad-cores. More RAM in your Android headunit helps the apps load and switch more smoothly. Overall responsiveness and reactions are improved with more than 2 GB RAM. Having 8 GB RAM will help to future-proof the Android head unit.

Graphics

The graphics core is the Adreno 610, supporting

• DirectX 12
• OpenCL 2.0
• OpenGL ES 3.2
• Vulkan 1.1

Audio

The Snapdragon includes the Qualcomm Aqstic audio codec and speaker amplifier with;

• Native DSD support, PCM up to 384 kHz/32-bit
• Support for two wake words simultaneously for the voice assistant
• aptX audio playback with support for aptX Classic and HD

GPS

Snapdragon 662 has modern global phone GPS roots, and the specifications show some exciting features.

• GPS, Glonass, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, and SBAS
• Low Power Geofencing and Tracking
• Sensor-assisted Navigation

Groundbreaking SoC processor

It’s groundbreaking in terms of an Android head unit. Don’t let the ‘mid-range’ moniker put you off. Regarding Android head units, the Snapdragon 662 is cutting edge. Regarding speed, the Chinese Android headunits are always several steps behind the high-end phone chips. But with this, snapdragon processing power is taking bold steps forward.

Unlike the overly popular 8227L_demo with its QuadCores, it is firmly stuck in 2014! The Snapdragon 662 is a 2020 production! That is not just a world away; it is two different galaxies.

Future Proofing

When we mention ‘future proofing’ your Android headunit, the Snapdragon 662 is a shining example of this operation. The 8 GB RAM will stay current for many years, putting the 1 GB and 2 GB based Android headunits to shame. There is much more RAM, but the RAM used is also much quicker. This gives a more fluid Android headunit experience with a modern SoC processor. Fakery is unnecessary, as the Snapdragon 662 is based on 2020 Android versions, and no hacked Android 4.4 is required to make it run. The Snapdragon 662 will run current and later versions of Android well. It even natively processes ‘wake words’ for in-car voice assistants and has heavy-duty AI processing cores not previously seen in Android head units.

Availability of the Snapdragon 662 Head Units

There are some charming examples of the 8Gb Snapdragon 662-based Android headunits with an impressive 11.6″ display. The Single DIN 662 and Double DIN 662 android headunit are available here (AliExpress).

Custom-fit Snapdragon 662 is available.