After Apple launched the iPhone 12 series with the insanely powerful A14 Bionic based on 5nm architecture, all eyes were on Qualcomm to make its move. That said, the US-based chip-maker launched its all-new flagship SoC, Snapdragon 888 at its Snapdragon Tech Summit.
Snapdragon 888, which succeeds the Snapdragon 865 processor, will be powering the next wave of 2021 Android flagships from various brands, including Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, LG and more. But let's take a look at how the new SD888 is better and what's changed from last year.
"Creating premium experiences takes a relentless focus on innovation. It takes long term commitment, even in the face of immense uncertainty. It takes an organization that's focused on tomorrow, to continue to deliver the technologies that redefine premium experiences," Cristiano Amon, president of Qualcomm, said in a statement.
Snapdragon 888 in its full glory
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 is significantly improved and unlocks various capabilities that were not possible before. From its fully integrated 5G modem to sixth-get AI engine, a lot is happening in that miniature chipset that will power up the new line of flagships. The new chipset will power phones from Asus, Black Shark, Lenovo, LG, Meizu, Motorola, Nubia, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo, Sharp, Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE in the first half of 2021.
Putting all the technical jargon aside, here's how the new Snapdragon 888 will benefit end-users.
Like A14 Bionic, Snapdragon 888 is based on a 5nm process, which means power efficiency is improved.
SD 888 gets a fully integrated 5G modem, which not only improves 5G carrier aggregation across the mmWave and sub-6GHz bands, but also makes substantial battery improvements with 5G use.
Snapdragon 888 gets treated to a sixth-gem AI Engine, which runs on a new Qualcomm Hexagon processor, promising a massive jump in performance and power efficiency for AI tasks.
Graphics also get a major boost with the most significant upgrade in Qualcomm Adreno GPU performance, the chip maker says.
Snapdragon 888 gets support for roughly 120 photos per second at 12MP resolution through an updated ISP, which is 35 percent faster now. It's up to the OEMs to leverage these photography capabilities.
