Microsoft may already be testing Lumia prototypes running the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor for its 2016 Lumia flagship phones. Nokia Power User reports that the company may use the chipset on at least two flagship devices that will be released at the end of 2016.
Nokia Power User also reported that Microsoft is also working on a Surface phone that will be powered by Intel. It is reported that that the Surface phone will be aimed at businesses and will feature support for Win32 apps as well as “enhanced continuum.”
The Lumia 950 and the 950 XL are powered by a Snapdragon 810 SoC and Microsoft has used liquid cooling in the phones in order to tackle the chipset’s heating issues. It was also rumoured that Samsung’s engineers were running into similar heating issues with the new Snapdragon 820 SoC. They were trying to modify the microprocessor control program in an effort to control the heat being generated. They may even resort to using heat radiating pipes in order to improve heat dissipation. However, Qualcomm China posted a statement on its Weibo account refuting these rumours. It said that the new chipset will continue to be improved and that it meets its design specifications. Samsung plans to use the new chipset on its upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S7 along with its own Exynos 8890 chipset. It was earlier reported that Samsung plans to launch its new flagship device in January next year in order to compete with the Apple iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 will come with Qualcomm’s Kryo cores that are built with the 14nm process. It will also comes with Hexagon 680 DSP as well as the X12 LTE Modem. The Hexagon 680 DSP will handle tasks that need to run constantly behind the device’s open process. This frees up the core processing power which will only be used for those applications that need higher computing support to run and will help improve battery life. The new chipset also comes with Qualcomm’s Zeroth engine. This gives the chipset machine learning capabilities which will allow future devices to adapt to different mobile practices and behaviours.
Source: Nokia Power User