Qualcomm shared a mini announcement about the Snapdragon 865 and we all knew that a great deal of information and technical characteristics would soon follow.
This is hands down the best Qualcomm has to offer, with the Snapdragon 865 features looking impressive, at least on paper.
Here we take a closer look at all of them, including specifications and technical details.
The Snapdragon 865 specs include sticking to the same CPU cluster as its predecessor, but adding 25 percent more performance to the mix.
Snapdragon 865
Like the Snapdragon 855 and Snapdragon 855 Plus, the Snapdragon 865 features a 1 + 3 + 4 CPU cluster, using the following configuration.
- A Kryo 585 Prime core running at 2,84 GHz (based on ARM's Cortex-A77)
- Three Kryo 585 performance cores running at 2,40 GHz (based on ARM's Cortex-A77)
- Four Kryo 585 efficiency cores running at 1,80 GHz (based on ARM's Cortex-A55)
According to Qualcomm, this full configuration should offer about a 25 percent performance boost compared to the Snapdragon 855.
As for the GPU, the new Adreno 650 with Vulkan 1.1 support can deliver up to 20 percent faster graphics performance compared to the Adreno 640. And it is expected to be 35 percent more power efficient compared to the GPU. mentioned above.
Snapdragon 865 Features – In-Depth Details
Display stand – Qualcomm claims that one of the many features of the Snapdragon 865 includes support for 144Hz refresh rate displays.
With OnePlus smartphones already sporting 90Hz displays, it won't be hard to imagine Android phone makers going that extra mile to ensure customers have access to buttery-smooth display technology.
ISP – The new ISP or image signal processor is called Spectra 480 and can process 480 gigapixels per second. This makes it possible to capture 4K HDR video along with 64MP burst images.
Qualcomm also claims that the new ISP supports up to single 200MP sensors. Additionally, 8K video recording at 30FPS is also supported by Qualcomm's latest micro, along with 960FPS slow-motion video capture at 720p and 120FPS footage capture at 4K.
AI performance – Another of the Snapdragon 865 features, Qualcomm claims that the new SoC can handle 15 TOPS, or trillion operations, giving it more than double the capacity of the Snapdragon 855, which could only reach 7 TOPS. This is made possible by the new fifth generation AI engine as well as the Hexagon Tensor Accelerator that is present in the Hexagon 698 DSP.
Connectivity – The Snapdragon 865 will only be offered in the 5G variant, but that doesn't make it any less convenient. The Snapdragon X55 5G modem is made in the 7nm manufacturing process and is compatible with 2G, 3G and 4G standards; it is offered with the Snapdragon 865 but it is not integrated into the SoC. Its theoretical maximum download speed limit is 7.5Gbps, with upload speeds maxing out at 3Gbps.
The new modem also supports sub-6GHz and mmWave bands, as well as being more power efficient than the Snapdragon X50. This may be one of the reasons why Apple is rumored to use the Snapdragon X55 modem in all upcoming iPhone 12 models scheduled for release in 2020.
Now comes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The Snapdragon 865 offers Wi-Fi 6 support thanks to the new Qualcomm FastConnect 6800 feature. Bluetooth 5.1 support has been added, along with Qualcomm's new aptX Voice, which enables clearer sound as it supports 24-bit audio. at 96kHz.
Memory support – The Snapdragon 865 gets LPDDR5 memory support at up to 2750MHz. Samsung earlier began mass production of LPDDR5 chips for use in future smartphones and tablets, which means we'll likely see them in the 2020 family of Android flagships.
This standard is up to 1.5 times faster than the previous generation, which is LPDDR4x, and consumes less power at the same time. Now, if you are wondering about the storage standard, the Snapdragon 865 has support for UFS 3.0.
New charging technology – Snapdragon 865 supports Quick Charge 4+, which can deliver up to 27W fast charging for when you want to quickly top up your smartphone if you have to go out in a hurry.
While your device will take a while to charge compared to newer standards that bump that power number up to 65W, battery life might be something you care about. Qualcomm claims that its new fast-charging AI will prevent early battery degradation, so you can use your current phone for much longer without having to replace it, or the battery inside it.
Qualcomm also has an official Snapdragon 865 features page on its website now, if you find such things interesting, as well as take a look at the myriad of new features and changes the company has made.
So far, we're impressed with what the SoC can do, but we'll continue to hold our reservations until we see what the silicon can actually do in real-world performance scenarios.