Back in January, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 was rumoured to launch with an unannounced Snapdragon 632 processor. The Chinese company instead launched the Redmi Note 5 with a Snapdragon 625 processor while the Note 5 Pro version got the Snapdragon 636. However, a recently leaked Geekbench listing of a device dubbed “Xiaomi Berlin” reveals it to be powered by a Snapdragon 632. The Xiaomi Berlin was benchmarked in February as per the listing. The motherboard is listed as sdm632 with a ARM Qualcomm hexa-core processor that is clocked at 1.02GHz. The CPU is paired with 3GB of RAM, and the device runs Android 7.1.2 Nougat OS.
The alleged device scored 1155 in the single-core test and 2738 points in the multi-core test. The single core test of the Xiaomi device much higher than the smartphones powered by Snapdragon 630, though the multi-core test score is significantly less.
The alleged Xiaomi Berlin, however, may never launch since it is probably a test device that has not been fine-tuned as seen from the base frequency. The number of cores also seems to be incorrect because the Snapdragon 632 is said to have eight cores instead of 6 mentioned in the benchmark test.
Besides, there’s been no confirmation as to Qualcomm plans for a Snapdragon 632 processor. The Snapdragon 630 and Snapdragon 636 are more than sufficient, and phone makers are even still releasing devices with the older Snapdragon 625. In addition, there’s also a Snapdragon 626 processor.
Still, Qualcomm might proceed with a Snapdragon 632 release later this year. As per previous reports, the Snapdragon 632 is a toned down version of Snapdragon 636. It is expected to come with a reduced clock speed of 1.8GHz, and the accompanying GPU will also take a hit. The new system-on-chip, however, will come with better support and optimisation for dual camera set up.
It is possible the alleged Xiaomi Berlin device is meant for European markets where the Chinese company may bring the Snapdragon 632 onboard their Redmi Note 5 smartphone.
