Snapdragon 855

Snapdragon 855. © Qualcomm.

Qualcomm officially unveiled its new Snapdragon 855 SoC. It will ship with the next generation of top-of-the-line Android phones, most likely starting with the Samsung Galaxy S10. As with Apple’s A12, its 7 nanometer process will make the processor more energy efficient compared to the previous 10 nm. According to Qualcomm, the Kryo 485 CPU’s eight cores, which are set up for 2,84 GHz, will bring a 45 percent performance increase. The Adreno 640 GPU replaces the 630 and will offer 20 percent more graphics performance. This new Snapdragon doesn’t incorporate 5G functionality, but a separate add, the Snapdragon X50 modem, will enable 5G support for those phones that need it. On the other hand, the built-in X24 modem is compatible with the new Wi-Fi 6 standard. As for cameras, the system is shifting from JPEG to HEIF for its image format. Apple already made this transition two years ago, and Android 9 Pie added system level support for HEIF.

⇨ The Verge, “Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 promises big improvements to AI, performance, and connectivity.”