Qualcomm’s New Midrange Chips Add Wi-Fi 7, Improve Gaming for Lower-Cost Phones

Chipmaker Qualcomm launched two new processors meant for lower-cost phones Thursday, adding support for the faster Wi-Fi 7 standard along with higher display refresh rates. The announcement is especially notable as the cost of electronics continues to rise amid the global RAM shortage, putting more focus on what phone buyers can still get at value-focused prices.

The Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 is the higher-end of the two, and will be the first for its series to include Wi-Fi 7 support. The newer wireless internet standard generally supports faster speeds and improved multitasking for networks powered by a newer Wi-Fi 7 router.

In addition to faster speeds, CNET Senior Writer Joe Supan notes in his Wi-Fi 7 analysis that these routers have also come down in price, making them more accessible to recommend when building out a home internet network (barring separate concerns relating to the recent US ban on foreign-made routers). The new processor also includes Bluetooth 6.0 support, which should improve pairing speed when connecting other devices and audio latency.

Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 5 adds a number of features that could improve gaming on lower-end phones, such as support for 144Hz refresh rates and 90 frames per second. Both of these are among the features I’ve seen on gaming phones that I’ve tested, and if something that cost around $300 were to support them, it would be quite the boost for phones in this price range.

To put into further context, the new $499 2026 Moto G Stylus runs on the prior Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor, while the HMD Fusion from 2024 ran on the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 and sold for 249 euros (around $300). There are no guarantees about when we will see devices with these Gen 5 processors, as there is a lot of competition among companies that make this component for lower-cost phones. 

Mediatek competes directly with Qualcomm with its Dimensity chips: Its Dimensity 6300 powers the 2026 Moto G Power, for instance. Google and Samsung also have in-house processors in their under-$500 devices, with the $499 Pixel 10A running on Google’s Tensor G4 and the $450 Galaxy A37 running on Samsung’s Exynos 1680.