The Snapdragon 865+, Qualcomm’s previous top model, will soon be replaced by the Snapdragon 888. However, this extremely powerful processor will probably only be able to serve as the heart of high-end smartphones. On the other hand, the other newcomer that Qualcomm has announced sounds very exciting. The Snapdragon 870 is also a processor for the upper class. It is supposed to be a bit less weak in the chest than the 888, but it can score with a fair price.
Consequent further development of the Snapdragon 865+
The upcoming Snapdragon 870 is a slightly faster version of the Snapdragon 865+. Qualcomm wants to realize a similar performance leap here as it was the case with the upgrade from the 865 to the 865+. This step is quite astonishing. After all, Qualcomm creates an in-house competition for the upcoming top model Snapdragon 888. The basic architecture of the Snapdragon 870 is supposed to correspond to that of the 865+. Thus, Qualcomm relies on eight CPU cores and the Adreno 650 graphics unit. Qualcomm boosts the clock rate of the Kryo 585 and the Cortex-A77 as the prime core from 3.1 to 3.2 GHz. On top of that, the other three Kryo and four other Cortex cores deliver clock rates of 2.4 and 1.8 GHz. The Snapdragon X55 is also retained for the upcoming Snapdragon 870. Among other things, this one delivers 5G support.
7 nanometer vs. 5 nanometer
Qualcomm talks about the individual improvements leading to 10 percent more performance than in the Snapdragon 865+. This applies to both processor performance and graphics performance. A decisive reason for the increased performance is the improvements in the manufacturing process. Qualcomm still uses a chip from TSMC that is manufactured in the 7-nanometer process. However, this is supposed to have been further improved by the work on the Snapdragon 865+. At the same time, the wheat is separated from the chaff. The upcoming flagship processor Snapdragon 888 is manufactured in state-of-the-art 5 nanometer technology. On top of that, Qualcomm gives it completely new architectures. This includes cores in the form of Cortex A78 and Cortex X1. The new top processor also relies on high-end graphics performance via the Adreno 660 GPU. So why does Qualcomm produce the Snapdragon 870 at all? The reason is probably that the 888 model is produced by Samsung. Qualcomm can produce the 870 on its own. This makes the SoC expert a bit more independent from the Korean company.
When will the new chips arrive?
The first smartphones with Snapdragon 870 will probably hit the market around the same time as the top models with Snapdragon 888. We will see the inexpensive chipset with a lot of performance in the flagships of the manufacturers Moto, Xiaomi and Oppo, among others.
