Qualcomm unveiled its newest flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 888 5G, at its virtual Snapdragon Tech Summit just yesterday. The chipmakers shared a few highlights and advancements that Snapdragon 888 5G brings in tow, but it did not dive deeper into the details. Today, Qualcomm has opened up and shared everything there is to know about the Snapdragon 888 in detail.

  • CPU - Kryo 680 cores
  • 5G Connectivity
  • Adreno 660 GPU
  • Camera Improvements
  • AI Capabilities
  • Security Upgrades
  • Frequently Asked Questions

Snapdragon 888 5G: All You Need to Know

  • CPU – Kryo 680 Cores

Snapdragon 888 5G is an octa-core chipset based on the 5nm process node. The chipset marches forward with the same 1+3+4 architecture as its predecessor, Snapdragon 865. It is, however, important to note that the Kryo 680 CPU now also includes a new Cortex-X1 core apart from the usual ARM Cortex-A series cores.

CPU – Kryo 680 Cores

  • 5G Connectivity

Unlike last year’s Snapdragon 865 where phone makers had to include a separate 5G modem alongside the chipset, Qualcomm has integrated the Snapdragon X60 modem aboard the Snapdragon 888 chipset.

5G Connectivity

Adreno 660 GPU

The Kryo 680 CPU cores are backed by the new Adreno 660 GPU, which Qualcomm says “achieves its biggest performance leap yet, delivering up to 35% faster graphics rendering” compared to the previous-gen Snapdragon 865.

Other gaming improvements include a new Quick Touch feature and Anti-howl. While the former will be helpful in FPS games like PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty, offering you 20% faster touch response, the latter will ensure you don’t get audio feedback (shrill sound) when playing multiplayer games on speaker in the same room.

  • Camera Improvements

In its official press note, Qualcomm boasts that Snapdragon 888 SoC will “transform mobile devices into professional-quality cameras.” The chipset comes equipped with a new Spectra 580 ISP. The biggest upgrade this time around is a triple Triple Image Signal Processor (ISP), which means you will be able to capture 4K HDR videos from three cameras at the same time.

Camera Improvements

AI Capabilities

Snapdragon 888 chipset also comes equipped with a 6th-Gen Qualcomm AI Engine, along with the new Hexagon 780 processor. The fused AI-accelerator architecture here helps provide an astounding 26 TOPS (tera operations per second) performance. Also, if we are to talk about the supported display specs, you will find up to QHD+ displays with 144Hz refresh rate and 4K displays with 60Hz refresh rate aboard phones powered by the new Snapdragon 888 chipset. It supports HDR10, 10-bit color depth, and more.

Security Upgrades

Apart from the standard security features such as Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit, Trusted Execution Environment, and cloud-based Wireless Edge Service, Snapdragon 888 5G brings two impressive features in tow.

Why is it called Snapdragon 888 and not Snapdragon 875?

In response to TechCrunch, Qualcomm revealed that Snapdragon 888 follows the Snapdragon 865 because “The number 8 is also a lucky number around the world. For some, it signifies infinity, success, or inner wisdom, while for others it symbolizes luck. For example, in India, the number 8 is known as Ashtha, Asta, or Ashta in Sanskrit and is the number of wealth and abundance. While in Chinese numerology 888 is a representation of triple luck.”

In the official press note, Qualcomm says that Snapdragon 888 5G phones will ‘be commercially available in the first quarter of 2021,’ by March 2021. The chipmaker already has 14 OEM partners, including Asus, Black Shark, Lenovo, LG, Meizu, Motorola, Nubia, Realme, OnePlus, OPPO, Sharp, Vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE.

Which will be the first Snapdragon 888 phone?

The rumor mill suggests that Xiaomi is looking to announce its Mi 11 flagship series as early as January 2021. This means Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro could possibly arrive as the first Snapdragon 888-powered phones.

So yeah, Snapdragon 888 5G chipset truly brings along some impressive gaming and camera features and we cannot wait to get our hands on smartphones powered by this chipset. Will Snapdragon 888 5G prove to be a lucky charm for 2021 Android phones and help them take on Apple’s A14 Bionic chipset? We will have to wait and watch.