Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon 870 5G SoC With A 3.2GHz CPU
- by Nick Cohen
- in Industry
- — Jan 21, 2021
The Snapdragon 870 5G Mobile Platform, described by Qualcomm as a "connectivity powerhouse", features both the Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System and the Qualcomm FastConnect 6800 Subsystem. It did, but the new Snapdragon 870 will slot in below the flagship Snapdragon 888. The Snapdragon 870 platform once again incorporates the Snapdragon Elite Gaming experience, which enables "desktop-level rendering" and 'hyper-realistic graphics'.
Qualcomm mentioned Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, and Xiaomi as partners who have commited to using the Snapdragon 870 in upcoming devices throughout 2021 so Motorola's follow up announcement is perhaps unsurprising. That accolade goes to the Snapdragon 888, which gets its name thanks to superstition this year.
The Snapdragon 870 shouldn't be thought of as a Snapdragon 888 "Lite" - rather, it's more of a follow-up to the Snapdragon 865 series.
The OnePlus 9E is rumored to include Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 Plus.
The 870 uses the same silicon as last year’s 865 chip
As mentioned earlier, the Snapdragon 870 5G (part number SM8250-AC) is based on a 7nm architecture and has its prime Cortex-A78-based Kryo 585 CPU core running at a maximum frequency of 3.2GHz. The GPU in particular is still among the most powerful in Android phone processors today, so expect smooth performance in advanced 3D games and emulators. It supports up to 25MP dual camera and 64MP single camera at 30FPS with zero shutter lag. Qualcomm has clearly worked hard to beat Huawei HiSilicon's Kirin 9000 SoC to reclaim the title of "Fastest Mobile Chipset".
According to leaked renders, Motorola Edge S has a quad-rear camera setup on the back and side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
That's obviously a list of mostly-Asian companies-three of them are Chinese-and maybe that's the point. The company also confirmed that new phones with the chipset would start appearing in the first half of this year by brands like Motorola, Xiaomi, OnePlus and more.
Here's hoping the Snapdragon 870 is competitively priced, as it could be a major shot in the arm for the affordable flagship segment if that's the case. It's supposedly a lucky number to have in your life, which means your phone will be extra-fast this year, apparently.
