As expected, Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform at its Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii. Luckily we’re not under embargo until January this year. Although the Snapdragon 835 is still a perfectly good SoC (system on a chip), consumers always want more. Its successor is on the way so can it beat the likes of the Apple A11 Bionic and Huawei’s Kirin 970? If you’re interested in the benchmarks results we have for the 845 compared to other phones, take a look here.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 release date
Now the Snapdragon 845 is official, it’s no surprise that we have a better idea of when devices will arrive with the new processor. Qualcomm said at the summit that we can expect to see devices running on Snapdragon 845 ‘early 2018‘. So we could see some, including smartphones, as early as MWC at the end of February.
What devices will have Snapdragon 845?
The 845 is for more than just phones, and this time it will cover even more device categories. Qualcomm said we can expect to see it in smartphones, XR (extended reality, Qualcomm’s chosen bracket for AR and VR) headsets and always connected PCs, among others. That said, expect the 845 to be in the Samsung Galaxy S9, Sony Xperia XZ2 and the LG G7. Xiaomi has already confirmed that it will be launching a flagship phone with the 845 and we’re expecting Windows 10 devices powered by the 845 sometime in 2018. Find out about Window 10 running on Snapdragon including the first devices.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 specs and features
As usual, Qualcomm has split the Snapdragon 845 into five key areas, or pillars so here they are and what they mean for upcoming devices with the processor.
Performance
The headline specs for the Snapdragon 845 are as follows: It’s a quad-core processor and is made with a 2nd-generation 10nm process, once again with Samsung. Whether or not the firm gets first dibs for the upcoming Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus remains to be seen, but it will be one of the first phones with it. The 845 has four performance cores that clock up to 2.8GHz, offering up to 30 percent gain. There are four efficiency cores that go up to 1.5GHz, with up to 15 percent performance gain. Overall, we’re looking at a 30 percent reduction in power for things like video capture and gaming. Meanwhile, it offers a 25 percent gain for gaming, launch times and more. The former means better battery life and Qualcomm says devices with the 845 will offer multi-day usage. You’ll get 4+ hours of 4K video capture 3+ hours of VR and 2+ days of Ultra HD Voice.
Immersion
This is the key pillar for Qualcomm and hinges around the Adreno 630 GPU and Spectra 280 ISP. The former is a brand new subsystem and brings up to 30 percent better performance and the same in power efficiency compared to the 835. Qualcomm promises better image capture, particularly as you’ll be able to capture Ultra HD Premium video, not just play it back. Going deeper, colour volume, gamut and luminance are all improved – up to 64x – so images will look more vivid and real. The firm believes that devices with Snapdragon 845 will hit DXO Mobile scores of 100+. There’s also better XR (eXtended Reality) thanks to 2K per eye at 120fps and, for the first time, six degrees of freedom with simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM).
AI
Artificial intelligence is everywhere these days and it’s a key focus for the 845, with Qualcomm now on its 3rd-generation of AI platform. The firm is touting three times the performance compared to the 835 with lower latency, improved privacy and better reliability. This will mean using digital assistants will be faster, more accurate and more natural. This is thanks, in part, to the Aqstic Audio part of the chip. Qualcomm said it will transform “your mobile device into the ultimate personal assistant; simplifying how you take pictures and videos; enhancing your VR games, and making voice interaction natural.”
Connectivity
When it comes to connectivity, things can never be good enough but the X20 LTE modem on the 845 bring improvements. It offers multi-gigabit Wi-Fi and can achieve a peak speed of 1.2Gbps with Cat 18 LTE. This means a 20 percent gain on the previous X16 modem and you’ll be able to download a 3GB movie in less than three minutes. Qualcomm has also made other improvements including Dual SIM VoLTE, 5x carrier aggregation and 4×4 MIMO. Bluetooth 5.0 is even better with the ability to connect directly to multiple devices simultaneously. That includes wireless earbuds rather than one relaying information to the other so can reduce power consumption by up to 50 percent.
Security
Last but not least is security and the Snapdragon 845 has new secure processing unit. This has its own micro-processor, memory, power island and random number generator to improve security on devices. Qualcomm describes it as ‘vault-like’. “Doing so makes it possible for improved biometrics security used for authentication, as well as user or application data key management used to encrypt critical information,” said Qualcomm.
Snapdragon 845 full specifications
Qualcomm Spectra 280 ISP
Ultra HD premium captureQualcomm Spectra Module Program, featuring Active Depth SensingMCTF video captureMulti-frame noise reductionHigh performance capture up to 16MP @60fpsSlow motion video capture (720p @480 fps)ImMotion computational photography
Adreno 630 Visual Processing Subsystem
30% improved graphics/video rendering and power reduction compared to previous generationRoom-scale 6 DoF with SLAMAdreno foveation, featuring tile rendering, eye tracking, multiView rendering, fine grain preemption2K x 2K @120Hz, for 2.5x faster display throughputImproved 6DoF with hand-tracking and controller support
Qualcomm Hexagon 685 DSP
3rd Generation Hexagon Vector DSP (HVX) for AI and imaging3rd Generation Qualcomm All-Ways AwareTM Sensor HubHexagon scalar DSP for audio
Snapdragon X20 LTE Modem
Support for 1.2Gbps Gigabit LTE Category 18License Assisted Access (LAA)Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) shared radio spectrumDual SIM-Dual VoLTE (DSDV)
Connectivity
Multigigabit 11ad Wi-Fi with diversity moduleIntegrated 2×2 11ac Wi-Fi with Dual Band Simultaneous (DBS) support11k/r/v: Carrier Wi-Fi enhanced mobility, fast acquisition and congestion mitigationBluetooth 5 with proprietary enhancements for ultra-low power wireless ear bud support and direct audio broadcast to multiple devices
Secure Processing Unit
Biometric authentication (fingerprint, iris, voice, face)User and app data protectionIntegrated use-cases such as integrated SIM, Payments, and more
Qualcomm Aqstic Audio
Qualcomm Aqstic audio codec(WCD934x):
Playback:
Dynamic range: 130dB, THD+N: -109dBNative DSD support (DSD64/DSD128), PCM up to 384kHz/32bitLow power voice activation: 0.65mA
Record:
Dynamic range: 109dB, THD+N: -103dBSampling: Up to 192kHz/24bit
Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+
Kryo 385 CPU
Four performance cores up to 2.8GHz (25 percent performance uplift compared to previous generation)Four efficiency cores up to 1.8GHz2MB shared L3 cache (new)3MB system cache (new)
10-nanometer (nm) LPP FinFET process technology Tech Advisor’s Reviews Editor, Chris has been reviewing all kinds of tech for over 10 years and specialises in audio. He also covers a range of topics including home entertainment, phones, laptops, tablets and more.
