Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G processor has officially launched as an enhanced version of the Snapdragon 865 series processors from 2020. Qualcomm announced its flagship Snapdragon 888 processor in December 2020 which was followed by the launch of the Mi 11 as the first phone to be powered by the said chipset.
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Qualcomm has now introduced a slightly upgraded version of its last year’s flagship processor in the form of the Snapdragon 870 which will be powering some upcoming affordable high-end smartphones. As noted by Mishaal Rahman of XDA Developers, the Snapdragon 870 processor will help smartphone manufactures launch phones with a new flagship processor as opposed to using year-old Snapdragon 865 or 865 Plus chips.
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The Snapdragon 870 5G processor has an octa-core CPU with Adreno 650 GPU and Snapdragon Elite gaming features. This is paired with upto 16GB LPDDR4x or LPDDR5 RAM modules and 5th generation Hexagon 698 AI Engine. The chip supports displays of upto 144Hz refresh rate and has an external Snapdragon X55 5G modem.
The Snapdragon 870 has dual Spectra 480 ISP with support for upto 8K UHD video recording and HDR10+ with Dolby Vision. The chip also supports Quick Charge 4+, Wi-Fi 6 and NavIC GPS connectivity.
The Snapdragon 870 has the same features as the Snapdragon 865 Plus, save for some tweaks here and there. The major change the Snapdragon 870 brings over the 865 and 865 Plus is a higher clocked prime Kryo 585 core running at 3.2GHz, and that’s about it. The Snapdragon 870 is still a 7nm chipset with an external X55 5G modem and three performance Kryo 585 cores running at 2.4GHz along with four power-efficient Kryo 385 cores clocked at 1.8GHz.
The Snapdragon 870 also brings support for Bluetooth 5.2 while the 865 and 865 Plus support Bluetooth 5.1. The rest of the feature set remains the same as the 865 Plus.
Several smartphone manufacturers have revealed their plans to launch a phone based on the Snapdragon 870 5G processor in the coming months. Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, iQOO and Xiaomi have all confirmed that they are developing smartphones powered by the Snapdragon 870 processor. Additionally, Qualcomm has said that phones with Snapdragon 870 under the hood will be announced in the first quarter of 2021.
“We are glad to announce that soon we will bring the new Snapdragon 870 5G Mobile Platform into our portfolio, unleashing the power of our smartphones to new and unique experiences,” said Sergio Buniac, president, Motorola Mobility.
“The flagship performance and exceptional 5G connectivity provided by the Snapdragon 870 5G Mobile Platform coupled with OnePlus’ unique innovative technologies and optimization, we look forward to delivering lightning-fast 5G speeds and ultra-smooth mobile experiences to more users,” said Kinder Liu, chief operating officer and head of R&D, OnePlus.
“Following our principle of ‘technology for mankind, kindness for the world’ and leveraging the premium performance delivered by the new Snapdragon 870 5G Mobile Platform, OPPO will deliver more human-centred products to global consumers and meet their expectations for cutting-edge technologies,” said Alen Wu, vice president and president of global sales, OPPO.
“Benefitting from the powerful performance of the new Snapdragon 870 5G Mobile Platform, we will continue to build a high-end flagship device and bring more surprises to global consumers regarding 5G, camera, AI, and more,” said Lei Zhang, vice president of Mi Smartphone and general manager of hardware R&D, Xiaomi.