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Qualcomm has announced its next flagship processor for smartphones. The new Snapdragon 888 5G mobile platform has a number of major improvements, unsurprisingly. At the time of writing, we’ve only had the main Snapdragon Summit announcements, so no detailed information such as block diagrams etc. has come out yet. Most of the information revealed at the summit so far has eluded the technical details of the CPU, focusing instead on things like 5G, AI engine, ISP, and a bit about the capabilities of the GPU.
Before getting into the technicalities, some are surprised at the version number of the new chip. If you were to follow recent naming conventions, we would be reporting on the SD875 today, but no, it’s the SD888. Some reports link this strange numerical jump to 888 being a particularly lucky number in Chinese culture, and Qualcomm is looking to reach out to Chinese tech partners now that the Trump era is almost over. Many smartphone partners agree with the adoption of the SD888, at least 14 OEMs.
Qualcomm’s new flagship SoC is based on TSMC’s 5nm process, like the Apple A14 and M1 processors. It integrates the following key components:
- The third generation Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 5G Modem-RF system. This fully integrated solution provides global compatibility by offering mmWave and sub-6 on all major bands in the world. Furthermore, it supports 5G carrier aggregation, global multi-SIM, standalone, non-standalone, and Dynamic Spectrum Sharing.
- Qualcomm’s 6th gen AI Engine is also present. It runs on a completely redesigned Qualcomm Hexagon processor to offer 26 TOPS. The AI offering is enhanced by the second-generation Qualcomm Sensing Hub.
- A faster gigapixel speed Qualcomm Spectra ISP is in the SoC for fast photo and video processing. Qualcomm says that this component is about 35% faster than its predecessor and can allow 12MP image capture at up to 120fps.
- Lastly, Qualcomm says that the gaming prowess of the new SD888 has been significantly improved thanks to a new Adreno GPU (no code number or other technical details). Paired with Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gaming features, the new GPU will push games at up to 144 fps.
As mentioned in the introduction, there is little to no CPU information from Snapdragon Summit so far. I’ll see if any news on that aspect of the SD888 warrants its own story or maybe just update this with a block diagram and video …
