Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 Will Be Welcomed in 2016 Devices


Snapdragon820-11-18-15It’s about to be 2016, which will mean an entirely new set of processors found in our smartphones. We know for sure that, as usual, many Android smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches will play house with the likes of Qualcomm. Speaking of, next in line for the company is the Snapdragon 820, which has been hitting some super high benchmark tests (Geek Bench reports a single-core score of 2,162, and multi-core score of 5,116, if that means anything to you). So, that’s what we’re going to be talking about today. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, unveiled just a week back but spoken about for many months, is a major improvement from the 810; the power efficiency of this thing makes it worth talking about.

Snapdragon820-11-18-15-1The fact that there is a Snapdragon 820 must mean the Snapdragon 810 processor had some improving to do. Before it came out in 2014, Qualcomm bestowed it with the idea that it could “do no wrong”, yet it didn’t take long to figure out overheating and inefficient power use would become a problem (especially among Samsung and LG, who decided to not use the chip in its devices last year). Despite the fact you can technically get Qualcomm’s improved second version of the 810 chip, the best idea is to go with the twice as efficient 820, which ultimately means less wasted power, and longer battery life by consuming 30 percent less overall.

Snapdragon820-11-18-15-2Built on the 14-nanometer FinFET process, the Snapdragon 820 fulfills the goal of running not only faster, but cooler. Qualcomm wants to ensure its customers that overheating will not be an issue. It also features a new level of malware security, featured in its SmartProtect app, which uses machine learning to find malware that may be hidden or in different forms on your device. Another effort in protecting user security is the ultrasonic fingerprint scanning technology (for verifying your identity) Qualcomm brought to the Snapdragon 820 (Digital Trends).

Other features that smartphone users will find helpful include better graphics and application performance (thanks to the Adreno 530 GPU) for both virtual reality and shooting sharper photos. There is an integrated modem for faster wireless and cellular bandwidth -including download speeds of up to 600Mbps, as well as 3D sound. Further, if you were to grab an Android smartphone featuring the Snapdragon 820 next year, your device will most likely boast VR headsets (VR integration has become a vital component of Qualcomm’s mission) and games of its own. Even if it doesn’t, it will at least support 4K resolution, another exciting tidbit.

Almost forgot, if you’re interested in your next Android phone having super fast charging speeds, the 820 will also (I know, the good specs never seem to end) take a mere 30 minutes to go from 0 to 80 percent. That sure beats the standard 2 ½ hour for 0 to 100 percent charging time! We will all still have to wait a bit though, as the Qualcomm 820 chip is currently being tested in 60 prototype devices to see how well it performs across the board.

Topics: Technology News Inventions & Innovations Smartphones & Mobile Devices Tech Reviews

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