Smartphone chip giant Qualcomm has finally unveiled monster flagship mobile processor Snapdragon 835 at the CES. The chip has been designed such that it can change the definition of smartphones in future. Similar to previous chips, the new SD835 features technology expected to enhance the smartphone experience with performance and power efficiency. However, this time, the company aims higher.
Qualcomm is not just focusing on performance alone, but is looking forward to redefine the smartphone industry with thinner designs and longer battery life apart from futuristic technologies such as AR, VR and machine learning.
Slimmer phone or bigger battery
The new SD835 SoC is built on Samsung’s 10nm manufacturing process — a package size that is 35 per cent smaller than its previous generation flagship Snapdragon 820. The company claims that the 835 consumes 25 per cent less power than the 820, which equates to either use the chip to design thinner smartphones or squeeze out all its essentials for a longer battery life.
Faster charging
The SD835 is also equipped with Quick Charge (QC) 4.0 technology for up to 20 per cent faster charging and up to 30 per cent higher efficiency than the earlier Quick Charge 3.0.
Performance ahoy
The SD835 also carries the Kryo 280 branding, coupled with an Adreno 540 GPU. Qualcomm claims that this would result in 25 per cent increase in 3D graphics rendering performance and will support up to 60 times more colours.
Rich entertainment
The new chip also supports 4K Ultra HD premium (HDR10) video, wide colour gamut 10-bit displays, object and scene-based 3D audio, and VR/AR motion tracking that include six-degrees of freedom.
“Our new flagship Snapdragon processor is designed to meet the demanding requirements of mobile virtual reality and ubiquitous connectivity while supporting a variety of thin and light mobile designs,” said Cristiano Amon, executive vice president, Qualcomm Technologies.
For the photographers
In terms of camera performance, the SD835 promises a faster auto-focus and better HDR coupled with support for either a single 32MP camera or dual 16MP cameras.
The security cocktail
As for security, the SD835 provides support for fingerprint, eye and face-based biometrics. It also includes hardware-based user authentication, device attestation, and device security for use cases such as mobile payments, enterprise access, and users’ personal data;
High-speed data highway
One of the biggest upgrade is the integration of an X16 Gigabit-Class LTE modem, which offers download speeds of up to 10 times as compared to the present 4G modems. This could blur the lines between wired and wireless connections.
For the future
Rich machine learning experience will be enhanced with higher performance optimisations and better security using Snapdragon’s heterogeneous cores. The new chip will enhance intelligent photography, strong security and privacy protection, smart automobiles and personal assistants, and responsive and true-to-life VR and AR.
