Qualcomm also threw shade at competitors by claiming its chip is created to sustain performance over long periods of time without running into throttling issues.

Qualcomm's new chip will start appearing in devices as early as next year, as select manufacturers already have access to the Snapdragon 888.

The full specs of all these phones have yet to be revealed, but these are some of the first few devices that customers can look forward to if they're looking for a new flagship smartphone in 2021. While unable to show specific use cases today, as Qualcomm is only a chip manufacturer, the performance notes of the 888 show considerable promise. Nevertheless, after the release, Xiaomi's CEO Lei Jun took to his official Weibo handle to dish out some important information.

Connectivity: Snapdragon 888 is the world's most advanced platform that implements 5G, along with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth audio for enhanced mobile experiences.

The Snapdragon 888 uses 1 x 2.84GHz (ARM's latest Cortex X1 core) + 3 x 2.4GHz (Cortex A78) + 4 x 1.8GHz (Cortex A55) architecture. The new Wi-Fi 6E standard, Bluetooth 5.2, and dual Bluetooth antennas are also supported.

The Snapdragon 888 5G processor will come with improved CPU and GPU performance, integrated 5G modem with support for both sub-6 and mmWave, and more.

Qualcomm's next-gen flagship smartphone processor is created to bring big boosts in CPU, graphics, and AI performance, while also bringing improvements in efficiency which could lead to longer battery life. In terms of games, it integrates the third-generation Snapdragon Elite Gaming.

The SoC embeds the Adreno 660 GPU and Qualcomm claims that it delivers 35 percent faster graphics and 20 percent improved power efficiency when compared to Snapdragon 865's GPU.

The Snapdragon 888 will also feature the new 3rd generation of Snapdragon Elite Gaming, which will significantly upgrade Qualcomm Adreno GPU performance over previous generations.

From a photography perspective, the company is most excited about the processor's Qualcomm Spectra 580 Triple Image Signal Processor (ISP), which is capable of capturing images and video from three cameras simultaneously at speeds of up to 2.87 gigapixels per second. There are some new camera software features Qualcomm is introducing, like AI-powered multi-frame video HDR, though these generally have a pretty mixed level of adoption among smartphone OEMs like Samsung, who tend to opt for more customized camera solutions. Previous iterations of the Snapdragon processors required that the modem be added on, so this integration is a big step.

Qualcomm's latest flagship offering will also include the new 6th generation Qualcomm AI Engine with a completely re-engineered Qualcomm Hexagon processor. The likes of ZTE, Nubia, Realme, and even Meizu have all confirmed that they will use this processor. Snapdragon 875 was an unofficial temporary name given to Qualcomm's upcoming flagship-grade chipset but the actual product turned out to carry the Snapdragon 888 moniker.