Prepare for a major upgrade in processing and graphics performance from next year’s Android-powered flagships. Qualcomm today announced its next-generation Snapdragon processors with 64-bit architecture, which promise a better mobile computing experience in almost every way.
In addition to support for 4K Ultra HD displays, the Snapdragon 808 and Snapdragon 810 processors are expected to bring even faster LTE connectivity, better graphics for your games, and blazing-fast devices you haven’t experienced on Android before.
After Apple launched the world’s first 64-bit mobile processor alongside the iPhone 5s last September, we’ve been waiting for competitors like Qualcomm to respond. One company executive initially called 64-bit chips a “gimmick,” but clearly the rest of Qualcomm disagrees.
Its new Snapdragon 808 and Snapdragon 810 chips are Qualcomm’s “highest performing platform to date,” the company said in its press release today. Both offer Cat 6 LTE Advanced technology and support 3x20MHz Carrier Aggregation, enabling data speeds of up to 300Mbps on supported networks.
The Snapdragon 808 supports WQXGA displays with a 2560×1600 resolution — that’s the same resolution as a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro — and is configured with two ARM Cortex-A57 cores paired with a quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU.
It boasts Adreno 418 graphics, with up to 20% faster graphics performance than the Adreno 330 GPU, as well as support for OpenGL ES 3.1 and LPDDR3 memory.
The Snapdragon 810, which is Qualcomm’s flagship 64-bit CPU, supports 4K Ultra HD displays. It also allows for the recording of 4K video at 30 frames-per-second, and 1080p recording at 120 frames-per-second.
It has Adreno 430 graphics that are 30% faster than the Adreno 330 GPU, and support for OpenGL ES 3.1. It’s configured with combined 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A57 and Cortex-A53 CPUs, with support for LPDDR4 memory, MIMO W-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, USB 3.0, and NFC.
Don’t think your new flagship smartphone with its Snapdragon 801 processor is already outdated, though. Qualcomm’s new 64-bit chips won’t be available for sampling until the second half of 2014, and you won’t actually see them inside new devices until early next year.
