Yesterday Qualcomm revealed the first details of the Snapdragon 888, the processor that promises to be the most advanced and powerful in Android, and during the second day of the Snapdragon Tech Summit, all the details of this SoC have already been revealed.
The Snapdragon 888 5G is Qualcomm’s first 5-nanometer chip that probably hasn’t been called 875 because the innovations it integrates are much larger than expected.
The first in the world in almost everything it integrates
Qualcomm has taken his chest in the presentation to tell us that the Snapdragon 888 5G is a processor that introduces technologies that we have not seen in other SoCs on the market, especially in the A14 Bionic and the Kirin 9000, which are the only chips for mobile devices manufactured also under 5 nanometers.
Given this, Cristiano Amon, president of Qualcomm has mentioned that “creating premium experiences requires a relentless focus on innovation. A long-term commitment is needed, even in the face of immense uncertainty.’
The innovations that Amon talks about are seen first in the connectivity of the Snapdragon 888 5G, since we have an X60 modem that is capable of connecting to 3rd generation mmWave and Sub6 networks, being the only modem for mobile devices that can do so today, which in theory would allow data download speeds of up to 3Gbps in networks that allow it.
Likewise, this chip is also the first in the world to be compatible with Wifi 6 and Wifi 6E, and even Qualcomm reveals that we are facing the first processor capable of offering premium audio through Bluetooth 5.2 thanks to its dual antennas, so those Hi-Fi lovers can now do so with Bluetooth headphones as well.
New architecture
During the presentation, the North American firm mentioned that they have changed the processor architecture, so now there is a new distribution of the 8 cores that integrates the Snapdragon 888 5G.
First of all, we have a 2.84 GHz arm Cortex-X1, 3 arms Cortex-A78 cores at 2.4 GHz and 4 arm Cortex-A55 at 1.8 GHz.
How are these processors distributed the tasks? The 4 cores are focused on low-performance tasks, the 3 Cortex A78s are for high performance, and the core that is only on top is for processes with the highest demands.
But the CPU is not the only thing that is ready for an outstanding performance, because in the GPU we have an Adreno 660, which according to Qualcomm figures is up to 35% faster than the previous generation in image rendering and 20% better in energy efficiency.
Ready for the next generation of games
In 2020, gaming services in the cloud have become much more popular, in Mexico, we have already been testing Project xCloud for a few days and we have given them our impressions. And of course, Qualcomm has not missed the opportunity to mention that the Snapdragon 888 5G is ready to offer the best gaming experience on the market in a smartphone.
With regard to games in the Cloud, the company says that its new chip will offer the best connection experience for services such as xCloud, Stadia or Amazon Luna, thanks to the fact that the modem is capable of offering the best 5G and Wifi 6 connectivity. possible on the market today.
Likewise, the firm has included a new technology called Game Quick Touch, which improves the response time of actions in the game, for example, Qualcomm ensures that in games at 120 fps this technology improves the touch response time by 10%, while at 60 fps a 20% improvement is achieved in this area.
And last but not least, we can expect a performance improvement in games of up to 30% compared to the previous generation.
Revolutionizing mobile photography
Returning to the topic that the Snapdragon 888 5G is the first in the world in many things, here it is no exception, as it is the first SoC that includes triple ISPs with AI. This means that 3 images or videos can now be captured for improved image processing and more realistic and impressive results.
The processor is capable of recording 4K video up to 120 fps and is also capable of reproducing this resolution and fps. It is also the world’s first capable of recording 4K HDR video with computational HDR and being able to capture 10-bit HDR HEIF photos.
The company also placed a lot of emphasis on the capture speed, which is now 2.7 gigapixels per second, and which represents a 35% improvement compared to the previous generation, being able to capture up to 120 12 MP photos in just 1 second, improvements that will be implemented in all types of photographs, especially in night mode.
And to continue shooting in low-light environments, Qualcomm has integrated the Spectra 580 ISP that debuts a low-light architecture for brighter photos.
When will the first phone with Snapdragon 888 5G arrive?
For now, there are no details about which will be the first manufacturer to integrate this SoC, although during the presentation Qualcomm has talked a lot about its business partners such as Xiaomi, OnePlus or Samsung, in fact, it is very likely that Samsung could be the first manufacturer to present a team with Snapdragon 888 5G, being the S21 series the first to integrate them for the North American market.
For his part, Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi has mentioned that the Mi 11 will be one of the first phones in the world with this processor, and Motorola has also confirmed that it will have phones that mount this SoC.