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Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855+ chip is built for gaming and VR
Qualcomm is shaking up its once-a-year approach to updating its flagship mobile processor, and it could be good news for Android phone fans who crave raw performance. The chip maker has introduced an upgraded Snapdragon 855+ that wrings extra performance out of the familiar 855 design. The eight-core Kryo 485 CPU now runs at up to 2.96GHz instead of the earlier 2.84GHz, and the Adreno 640 graphics should deliver a 15 percent speed boost.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 675 rides the multi-camera and gaming trend
It's only been almost a quarter since Qualcomm launched its Snapdragon 670 mid-range chipset, but today, the company is already bringing out a slightly beefier Snapdragon 675, which is clearly designed with three smartphone trends in mind: Gaming optimization, multiple cameras and AI-enhanced features (including face unlock). Announced at the 4G/5G Summit in Hong Kong, the Snapdragon 675 features Qualcomm's brand new fourth-generation Kryo CPU -- the Kryo 460 with two high-power 2GHz cores and six low-power 1.7GHz cores -- which apparently gives a notable boost to its everyday performance and gaming performance. For instance, compared to the Snapdragon 670, the new Snapdragon 675 is claimed to launch games 30 percent faster and offers 35 percent faster web browsing.
New Snapdragon chips bring dual cameras to more mid-tier phones
With certain exceptions, mid-range smartphones haven't been keeping pace with the bells and whistles of higher-end handsets -- you can still expect 'just' a single rear camera and 1080p video recording. Qualcomm might soon fix that. It's launching the Snapdragon 632, 439 and 429 systems on a chip, all of which promise to make dual cameras (plus a few other features) more commonplace.
Qualcomm's new chip brings ultra-wide screens to mid-range phones
Ultra-wide screens are hot stuff on smartphones these days, but there still isn't a whole lot of choice: you tend to either spring for the high end or make do with budget models. Where are the in-between options? Qualcomm might just help. It's introducing the Snapdragon 636 processor, an upgrade to the mid-tier 630 whose centerpiece is support for extra-tall FHD+ resolution (roughly 2,160 x 1,080) screens. You should get a reasonably speedy, dramatic-looking phone without making your bank account cry for mercy. It supports Assertive Display, too, so you can expect better visibility in less-than-ideal lighting.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 chip is big on photography and VR
Qualcomm hinted that its Snapdragon 835 processor would be something special, and it's ready to show all its cards now that it's at CES, according to a leaked blog post. Battery life is one of the chip's strongest selling points, as you may know (we'll recap that later), but Qualcomm has also revealed that the 835 also carries a ton of upgrades that reflect a rapidly changing mobile landscape. Take virtual reality, for example. On top of 25 percent faster Adreno 540 graphics, it improves positional audio and reduces the lag between motion tracking and what you see on-screen. You won't be as likely to feel seasick or turn the wrong way, in other words.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 packs 600Mbps LTE and smarter charging
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 hype train is getting to be a bit much (just ship the thing, already!), but you might want to take notice of the latest news if you're big on data speeds -- or simply want to charge your phone in a hurry. The company has revealed that its future system-on-a-chip will include the first processor to support super-fast 600Mbps LTE-Advanced, blowing past the 450Mbps record from before. It'll upload at a brisk 150Mbps, too, and this chip is the first to support unlicensed LTE (aka LTE-U). Oh, and did we mention that it'll allow for multi-gigabit 802.11ad WiFi? You probably won't get to use much of this technology in the near term, but it's good to have a ton of futureproofing.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 is twice as friendly to your battery
Qualcomm is clearly bent on drumming up hype for its Snapdragon 820 chip by drip-feeding facts, but its latest revelation is a big one. The company has revealed that the Kryo CPU at the heart of the chip is up to twice as power-efficient as the Snapdragon 810, even though it's up to two times faster. While that doesn't necessarily translate to twice the battery life, it does promise significantly better performance without a hit to your phone's longevity.
Qualcomm's next chips will help smartphones think for themselves
Qualcomm teased the prospect of smartphones that learn a couple of years ago, and it's now much closer to making them a practical reality. The chip designer has revealed its next big mobile processor, the Snapdragon 820, will be one of the first that can handle its Zeroth cognitive computing platform. In short, it'll let your phone learn about you (and the world around you) to take action on its own. You should see photo apps that detect whole scenes, security tools that protect against unknown viruses and interfaces that depend more on expressions and head movement than button taps. It gets more ambitious than that, though. Zeroth allows for always-on sensors that detect your surroundings (such as through motion or sound) and help your phone anticipate what you want.
