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Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon 845 processor - The Verge

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source link: https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/5/16734224/qualcomm-snapdragon-845-android-mobile-processor-announcement
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Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon 845 processor

The chip that will be in all of the major Android phones next year

By Dan Seifert@dcseifert Dec 5, 2017, 2:56pm EST
qualcommImage: Qualcomm

Qualcomm today announced that its next flagship processor will be called the Snapdragon 845, the company said at its Snapdragon Tech Summit. The 845 is a direct successor to last year’s very popular Snapdragon 835, and it will likely bring improved performance, better power efficiency, and improved image processing. The Snapdragon 845 will likely be found in many high-end Android phones in 2018, though it is also expected to make its way to Windows 10 laptops as well.

Last year’s Snapdragon 835 featured a 10nm manufacturing process, and the 845 is expected to be the same. Qualcomm will pair the 845 with its latest X20 LTE modem, which provides gigabit connectivity on supported networks. Qualcomm is hosting its annual conference this week, where we expect to learn more about the Snapdragon 845 and all of its capabilities, so stay tuned for more.


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There are 51 comments.

Looking forward to FULL FIDILETY Windows 10 ARM Laptops!

Windows machines with the battery life of iPads is likely

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 3:03 PM

This comment has been removed at the request of the author.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 10:21 PM

Watch out! The phone will burn you!

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 3:30 PM

What kind of cores are we talking? ARM stock/semicustom, or fully custom?

Wonder if it’ll finally surpass the 6S per-core…

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 3:38 PM

Coming first to a Samsung phone near you! All other Android OEM’s are being shortchanged by moves like this. It really isn’t fair to competition and the market.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 3:53 PM

Doesn’t Samsung use its own Exynos chips?

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:09 PM

They use both, and usually split them between markets. They like to buy out stock in the early months from Qualcomm.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:24 PM

I’ve heard 2 main reasons:

  1. Patent issues with Qualcomm (which also prevent Samsung from selling its SoC)
  2. Exynos has poor CDMA support and the US has a large CDMA presence (thanks Verizon and Sprint!)

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:36 PM

Samsung can sell their SoC. Meizu has been using Exynos for their phone for years. The issue is quantity. I don’t think Samsung can make it in such a large amount to sell.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:49 PM

The patent issue is a recent development, but supply chain constraints may very well be another reason.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:54 PM

Given that Qualcomm hires Samsung to manufacture Snapdragon chips, it’s far more likely that CDMA support is the reason. Once Verizon stops using CDMA in 2019, it will be a very different story.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 5:04 PM

Its also the reason Apple used Qualcomm modems in its CDMA iPhone 8 / X this year otherwise it would have been all Intel for them. Patent lockout of CDMA is probably part of that… JMHO…

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 8:17 PM

Although even with patents, there’s non-Qualcomm CDMA IP on US networks today – AFAIK MediaTek is using a VIA Telecom CDMA modem in some of their SoCs, which have appeared on Verizon. Oh, and VIA Telecom’s CDMA IP was bought by Intel.

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 5:58 AM

I think it is more a third option…Samsung has issues meeting demand off just one supply. Even apple has multiple display partners. Samsung treats their chip business like their display business, they have to buy it from themselves…they dont really care who it comes from as long as it is a quality part.

Also US phones have had Exynos chips before… I think the last one was the Note5…so being we don’t speak of the 7, and there was no 6, the last one :smile:

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:52 PM

They aren’t really being shortchanged. Chances are Samsung is paying more per chip than they will be and its chips will have higher failure rates due to being the first production run. They can only make so many, someones gonna get shortchanged no matter what.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:47 PM

This comment has been removed at the request of the author.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:14 PM

7nm isn’t used anywhere by anything yet and Qualcom makes like 25 times as many chips as Apple does. Apple just makes gigantic ones and absorbs the inflated cost by selling their phones are enormous markups.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:48 PM

This comment has been removed at the request of the author.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 7:20 PM

I doubt a genuine 7nm will be ready for the summer, that seems a little fast from the schedules I’ve seen.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 8:07 PM

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Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 8:15 PM

Process nodes aren’t that simple and different companies measure nodes differently. TSMC tend to over claim in comparison to Samsung and even more in comparison to Intel. For instance Intels 14nm process node from 2014 is similar to TSMC’s 10nm node in terms of how many transistors you can fit in an area and power characteristics.

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 6:42 AM

This comment has been removed at the request of the author.

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 8:21 AM

Yes and no. They’re just using the most optimistic measurement for nm scale provided by their supplier. There are different ways to measure pitch vs density etc. Intel, Samsung, and TSMC just uses different methods.

Process scale kinda became a marketing gimmick a few years ago, so claims started to drift away from accuracy in places.

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 10:25 AM

The note 8 is a much larger phone. To me the better comparison is to the Galaxy S8 which is relatively the same size as the iPhone X. To me its like comparing a 50" TV and a 65" TV and saying they are the same price.

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 10:38 AM

This comment has been removed at the request of the author.

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 1:39 PM

How many flagship processors does Qualcomm compared to Apple?

Posted  on Dec 9, 2017 | 8:12 AM

I don’t think you understand the business model motivations that underpin the difference between Apple’s chip design and Qualcomm’s. Qualcomm is doing just fine even if they would like to catch up or surpass Apple’s design quality.

This Gary explains video does a good job of articulating the difference simply if you’re interested.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 11:55 PM

This comment has been removed at the request of the author.

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 1:26 AM

Yeah, Qualcomm should just close up shop,nobody cares for them. It’s not like another company just tried to acquire them for over $100 billion or anything.

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 8:10 AM

This comment has been removed at the request of the author.

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 8:26 AM

They aren’t a patent holding company, they create the patents. They do R&D and design high tech products. Their value is based on the products they design and sell.

By your very own logic, Apple is just a patent holding company because they don’t manufacture their own processors or phones.

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 12:25 PM

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Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 1:31 PM

Out of curiosity, what products does Apple manufacture itself? Does Apple own any factories?

And I’m not really sure what the significance of a company selling their products to the public versus selling to other businesses is. The company I work for creates software for medical offices, does that mean we’re less of a legitimate business than Adobe who sells to consumers?

Posted  on Dec 7, 2017 | 2:05 PM

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Posted  on Dec 7, 2017 | 3:15 PM

And this statement:

They make their profit purely on royalties

Is patently false. Qualcomm does license it’s technology to others, but they also produce and sell chips directly to its customers.

Posted  on Dec 7, 2017 | 2:12 PM

This comment has been removed at the request of the author.

Posted  on Dec 7, 2017 | 3:22 PM

Looking forward to see the performance improvements for sure. Not that the 835 is a slow chip mind you.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:22 PM

I hope they’re not cheap fucks this year and decide to go bigger.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:35 PM

Two things that worry me about it:

1) It uses Cortex-A75, which has been optimized for "performance", rather than efficiency, such as the A73 that Huawei uses in some of its latest chips.

2) The 845 is stuck on the exact same process as the 835, but should be pushed to have higher performance – not a great sign for battery life and thermal issues.

I really hope this won’t be another Snapdragon 810, 2018 Edition. If it is, I hope Google doesn’t intend to use it in the next Pixel, and goes with Samsung’s latest Exynos at the time. They’ve had enough issues with Pixel 2. They don’t need the drama next year.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:46 PM

They’ll need the CDMA support and only Qualcomm really seems to provide that (probably patent related), so would guess they’ll be with them next year.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 8:19 PM

Until I see benchmarks with a 40+% performance boost this is a snore. They are getting cleaned up by Apple and they need to change their high end business model if they want to be anything other than the next Intel. Exynos chips are already on the verge of overtaking them and Samsung has its own fabs and isn’t reliant on Qualcom. If Apple is making gigantic chips then they need to get some fat chips in there too before someone with a performance emphasis (Samsgun, Microsoft, Google) does and sweeps the leg.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:50 PM

Does it really matter if Apple makes better chips, considering they don’t sell them to other companies? As far as everyone else cares, the choice is Snapdragon, Exynos, Kirin, or Helio.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 5:10 PM

It matters insofar as it shows that there can be significant gains by following the model of vertically integrating a large, expensive chip into your flagship smartphone and recouping the cost through volume and markups. Pretty much exactly the business model Samsung, Google, and Microsoft would be interested in. Samsung is clearly the closest to making it a reality, but Google is investing in chips for a reason and Microsoft is clearly trying to break the relationship they have with their own stagnant chip suppliers.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 5:21 PM

Apple is a key competitor, so it matters. It doesn’t matter to me enough to switch to iOS, but it will matter to others.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 5:23 PM

Apple is a key competitor to Qualcomm??

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 5:34 PM

I would say it’s accurate. Yeah.
If Apple makes a better chip, the consumer might buy an iPhone instead of a Samsung/ Google/HTC Device and Qualcomm order sizes shrink.
Direct? No.
Key? Yes.
There is the future possibility of Apple selling Ax chips as well, this is a handy idea to starve QC in their licensing fees fight as Apple can harm QC margins to the point where they would have to fold. Obviously long term.

Basically, if you make engines for super cars, it’s in your interest to not have an electric car manufacturer building faster cars than the ones using your engine.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 6:39 PM

The jail refectory just introduced its new main course.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 4:57 PM

The 835 showed something very important.
If you don’t have that shiny new chip in your phone, the publicity is brutal. The Internet rips into your product, even if in all practicality it doesn’t matter much.

So, Sony and LG, get that chip.

Posted  on Dec 5, 2017 | 7:01 PM

Like most people in the real world… it’s battery performance not speed I care about, the 810 is still more than fast enough for what 99% do with a smartphone (same as the 6s on the Apple side) so would rather all the innovations went to improving the battery life

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 4:09 AM

Processor speed isn’t anywhere near the top of my phone purchasing checklist at this point…it’s perfectly good even in the mid-tier these days!

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 11:30 AM

I have an 810 in my LG V10 and it still works fine, even if it does get hot occasionally when playing a game or something. My only complaint is battery life.

I’d love to get a newer phone… not sure when I’ll give in though, when mine still makes calls and texts, takes pretty great pictures, and does all the other stuff I need.

Posted  on Dec 6, 2017 | 12:54 PM

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