Qualcomm to ship 1.5GHz QSD8672 Snapdragon processor in Q4
By Darren Murph 
posted August 17th 2010 3:12AM
posted August 17th 2010 3:12AM
And you thought a dual-core 1.2GHz chip was quick. If all goes to plan (that's a big "if," by the way), Qualcomm will one-up its Computex standout before the end of this year, with vice president of product management Mark Frankel affirming that his company is on track to ship a 1.5GHz dual-core QSD8672 chip prior to the dawn of 2011. He's quoted as saying that the blazing new Snapdragon could find a home in smartphones, low-cost laptops and tablet PCs, and while we're led to believe that the vast majority of said products won't actually greet consumers until early next year, a few aggressive partners may get wares out "by Christmas." For those unfamiliar, the fancy new 8672 is based on an ARM design and will be crafted using a 45nm process technology, and the individual voltage scaling will enable each core to be clocked independently of the other in order to maximize battery life and performance. Naturally, 1080p video playback will be supported, as will DDR2, DDR3 and HDMI interfaces. Oh, and don't sweat it -- you've still got plenty of time to get on Santa's 'good' list.
windows phone 7?!?!?!
@briguy266
Android Phone Pl0x... Or iPad/(insert android running tablet name here)
HOLY COW !
@kramer
WANT. NOW.
Along with a nuclear powered electricity source, cuz normal batteries are gonna have an interesting time dealing with that...
@briguy266 1.5 Ghz, Dam that's going to eat through the phone's battery but I think it's worth it... Now imagine if Motorola lives up to its word and get's a 2Ghz phone out there by Q4 2010/ Q1 2011.. Smartphone's are going to have netbook specs
HTC dual core anything = SOLD!
this is gonna be exciting. but we do need to work on the battery life.
@briguy266 Will Hold out to upgrade until Christmas or January 4 more months so excited, the real question is.... Will 3.0 Devices be out before the end of the year. I am currently running 2.2 Froyo on HTC Hero but I know it will not do 3.0 thats upgrade time and I do not wish to wait for any updates. Want 1.5Ghz to 2Ghz running Android 3.0...
@briguy266 Just like 1GHz processors became a standard in 2010, 1.5-1.6 GHz will become standard in 2011.
This will actually change mobile computing and possibly eliminate the need to carry around a netbook (Android 3.0/MeeGo)
However, the thing that concerns Me the most is the battery life, 1.5 GHz processor mean power-hungry phone. Even an 1800 mAh battery won't do any good. We need at least about 2200 mAh. Of course this means brick-like batteries (and phones)
But since the technology has evolved so much in the past 3 years alone, I'm expecting new battery technology in 2011 to accompany such powerful mobiles. These would pack more power than ever while still maintaining a small size
@briguy266 I just wish those ARM windows 7 rumors were true, But these are going to enter intel's territory, and then there's moorestown, which is x86, I see a war in future, or wait, Now
@statickeith
Lithium-sulfur tech is right around the corner supposedly. 2-4x more energy density than current tech. So 3000mAh+ batteries that will fit in a cell phone shouldn't be an issue by the end of next year unless they hit a major snag somewhere.
@briguy266
for all you guys complaining about battery performance, look up the difference between the 1 ghz, 1.2 and 1.5 ghz processors from qualcomm. the interesting thing about them (from all the documents i've read) is that that in terms of performance, obvious 1.5 ghz>1.3 ghz> 1.0 ghz...but the funny thing is in terms of battery life and their ability to slowly sip juice 1.5 ghz>1.3 ghz> 1.0 ghz. yes, the 1.5 ghz chip actually consumes less power than the 1.0 ghz snapdragon.
http://mobile.engadget.com/2009/06/01/qualcomms-1-3ghz-qsd8650a-snapdragon-chipset-is-30-stronger/
but to be honest, unless you're looking for phones that will run insane graphics for games i dont see the benefits of running the 1.5 just yet. but then again, it would be nice to have a ''future proofed'' phone
@briguy266
Why isn't battery technology advancing this fast!
At this rate we'll have phones that have battery lives of minutes instead of hours!
@briguy266
How bout in the next Dell Streak!!!!
1.5 Dual Core Snapdragon + Android 3.0 + 5" screen + 5MP front facing cam along with a 10MP cam on the back Dual LED + 1280x720 res screen + FM Radio + LTE 4G on AT&T and Verizon = Jesus Phone
HTC or Dell Make it happen!
@liftedngifted1
Nah. The transistors might have the same frequency but only half the transistors due to die size and higher Nm architecture. :(
@PhillyZ That may be the Dell streak 3................that's way too much you're asking for ;)
1280x720 res is ALOT! and 5MP front facing cam? The highest we have now is 1.3! LOL!
@PhillyZ
No. While the 1.3 Ghz chip will sip less power than the 1 Ghz chip, that is because it is made at the 45nm node as opposed to the 65nm node that the 1 Ghz chip is manufactured. The 1.5 Ghz chip will use about as much power as the currently used chips as it is manufactured at the same node as the 1.3 Ghz chip, but is clocked higher.
@Someguyperson I wish they would spend some more time Advancing the GPU on the Snapdragons, not the CPU. With the Qualcomm line we are going to end up running into a bottleneck. You are only as strong as your weakest link, and that is the Adreno GPU.
@briguy266 : Don't forget to add xvid and divx support in there! :| better GPU?
@liftedngifted1
Different architecture; 1.5ghz on a phone is not going to be the same as 1.5 on a pc.
I'm not sure why everyone is so narrowminded on interpreting specs. Not only is my 1ghz snapdragon never a bottleneck (aside for
freaks who game on phones), but it seems nobody ever envisions packages as a whole. For instance, the iPhone 4 does NOT have impressive clock speed, yet it runs smooth as oil on oil.
My phone can have the power of a core I7, but really, it won't change the real world function of my phone, nor will it replace any if my larger devices.
@Failbait Well, that's partially true. There are lots of ppl that like converged devices (i.e. me) where you can navigate, view movies, play and talk on the same device. Besides, That would give you the nice advantage of being able to churn more numbers (read: triangles + transforms) and have even better UIs.
@(Everyone Else) 1.5Ghz won't drain your battery that fast if the frequency scaling they're proposing is effective. What you'll get is the same features as dual 700Mhz (read: Droid) at half the battery consumption.
@Fr3sh2De4th APad from china
@Failbait
"I'm not sure why everyone is so narrowminded on interpreting specs. Not only is my 1ghz snapdragon never a bottleneck (aside for
freaks who game on phones)."
I think you just proved your narrow-mindedness while telling everyone else that they are narrow-minded, impressive. :-) As johnvillar said, They are convergence device now, not just cell phones. Gaming is becoming a big thing whether you like it or not. Have you not noticed Apple and their gaming push, Windows phone 7 Xbox Live integration, and Android's possible PSPhone? Yes, There are a lot of "freaks" that game on phones now..... Who is narrow-minded again?
Anyway, my point was just that while it is nice to have a higher clock speed on the CPU, I think it would also help if Qualcomm worked on the Adreno Driver support and advancing the GPU all together. CPU clockspeeds alone do not always help gaming and create smooth shnazzy UIs. Its a combination of the CPU and GPU, and when one is severely limited, the overall system is limited.
@simbadogg
Awesome! Always glad to be proved wrong! lol This is great news!
@darkazure Actually these new 8672 cores have a new GPU. 5x the performance of the first & second generation Snapdragon chips. Their performance is easily on par with if not better than the Hummingbird line.
Just sayin.
@darkazure All the 45nm Snapdragons come with better GPU's than the 65nm (1GHz) version. The single-core ones come with the Adreno 205, which is supposed to be roughly 2x the performance of the Adreno 200 in the 65nm. The dual-core stuff comes with the Adreno 220, which has roughly 8x the triangle throughput.
@PhillyZ "back Dual LED" if you're putting wishful thinking in there...why not a proper Xenon? Stronger and gives more natural colours.
@metafor The 8672 more likely has the Adreno 205 as well. The dual core 1.2ghz 8260 and 8660 are the ones to watch.
@darkazure
You're mixing the context for my use of narrow-mindedness; I said everybody has a narrow minded view on how to interpret hardware specs. They get hyped over a single element without realizing the overall change in end-use. I simply, and narrow-mindedly bashed gaming on phones; although this is my opinion, as opposed to a mislead statement of fact, based on my inability to interpret what effect an improved piece of hardware can offer. IE, hailing a faster CPU as a step to seriously improved user experience.
In this case, lets look at the Evo 4G and the iPhone 4. The Evo is clocked 60% faster, yet both phones, in the end, perform very well. Whether it's a difference in architecture or software utilization, it doesn't matter. End results matter much more than specifications.
Secondly, do you believe I don't use my Evo as a 'convergence device'? I often play music while switching between apps and navigation while checking incoming emails. I bashed games because smartphones are, again, in my opinion, business devices. If we need GPUs to tailor to 22 year olds playing games in mums back seat, so be it. But I think it's just one more narritive to a more idiot culture.
Really, theres a PHENOMENALLY larger margin for improvement between the Android OS itself, as well as improved connection speeds.
CPU speed currently does not hold a candle to these two elements.
@Zizagoo I believe they stepped up the 8672 to the Adreno 220. Back in 2009, they planned it with the 205 but since the graphics wars started heating up, I guess they revamped (and delayed).
@darkazure
+10 to this.
@liftedngifted1 The lower the chip process size the greater the power efficiency. Don't just assume it's as linear as you're thinking it is. Thus 45nm will have less power efficiency than something like a 32nm process.
@Snow02
I wish I could believe that. Thing about technology especially battery technology is you hear about some new advancement that should be out "real soon" and 2-3 years later your still waiting for it without much news
@simbadogg I don't think there is such a thing as a "future proof" phone. It is an exciting industry especially where we have mobile OSs that almost any OEM can use (well, not iOS and WinPh7 is on it's way) Android paved the way, but can you imagine how the industry will be in 2011 with two big mobile OSs that consumers/OEMs can choose from? Exciting times my friends, exciting times indeed!
@Schmich
Xenon is useless for low light video shooting, dual LEDs are the best compromise for video and still shooting.
@angermeans
1.5 Ghz is at least two year proof. But something that makes a phone MORE future proof is the manufacture's ability and willingness to update it with the newest software, as in Android's latest releases.
@PhillyZ
dreaming nutshell, htc never release a fm radio, why would carrier want fm radio anyway, they want you to paid their service. front camera is need to be more video oriental then picture, sprint are more likely get this phone first.
I'll take it on the Evo 2 plz.
@Steven
To fry your ear and brains while talking with phones with this thing?? They should stop going crazy with these chips.... they can fry your balls dry...
@Steven
I'm waiting for the 2 GHz on Motorola's phone.
Gingerbread phone!
The speed at which smartphone tech is improving will mean only one thing: smartphone hardware is destined to become a commodity business. Good for us. Bad for hardware makers. Wave buh-bye to your margins, Apple.
@bj55555
There will always be people who will pay more for a well-done premium product. And there is a place for the low end bargain products, and everything in between. Signed, BMW, Rolex, Montblanc, and Ruth Chris'.
:O
And I jizzed in my pants
@blackstone I just JITTED in mine!
@ZLiberator
Ahhhhhh..... uh-oh
despite my reservations over processor speed, (I'm sure you remember the days of pentium 4) my geek self can't help going '1.5ghz!!! 1.5ghz! zomg!'
so yeah, count an excited me in!
NEXUS 2 pls, I don't want no skins and late OS updates!
@keyrol
Thats a bolt of lightning son, a bolt of lightning.
What a bag of Hertz!
@Ethan:
That joke Hertz my feelings.