Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
At the annual Snapdragon Technology Summit, Qualcomm officially unveiled its next-generation mobile flagship platform, not the usual Snapdragon 875, but the new “Qualcomm Snapdragon 888”!
The Snapdragon 888 is built on Samsung’s new 5nm process and features an eight-core design, with the big core starting with a new super-core ARM Cortex-X1, which Qualcomm calls a “Super Core” at 2.84GHz. There are also three 2.4GHz A78 cores, four 1.8GHz A55 cores, and the GPU graphics cores have been upgraded to the Adreno 660, a design that is unbeatable in terms of performance. The Snapdragon 888 is also Qualcomm’s first integrated flagship 5G SoC, incorporating the Snapdragon X60 5G baseband. Check Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 official introduction video here.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 flagship platform processor, which will support the next generation of flagship smartphones. For Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line 8-series chipset, the Snapdragon 888 is the first major improvement for 5G: it will finally offer a fully integrated 5G modem, unlike last year’s Snapdragon 865, which included a separate modem chip internally.
The Snapdragon 888 will feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X60 modem announced earlier this year, which uses the 5nm process for better power efficiency and improved 5G carrier aggregation across the mmWave and sub-6GHz spectrum. Global multi-SIM support, SA independent, NSA non-independent, and dynamic spectrum sharing. Between the new 5nm architecture and the power efficiency gains from the integrated modem, it appears that the new chip could provide some substantial battery life improvements in 5G.
In addition to the 5G improvements, Qualcomm also previewed several other advances for the Snapdragon 888, including a sixth-generation AI engine (running on a “redesigned” Qualcomm Hexagon processor) all at an astonishing 26 tera operations per second (TOPS). And a second-generation sensing hub that promises to deliver significant improvements in performance and performance for AI tasks. There’s a big jump in power efficiency.
On the gaming front, Qualcomm introduces the third-generation Snapdragon Elite Gaming, which will also bring “the most significant upgrade to Qualcomm Adreno GPU performance” with support for 144fps gaming and desktop-grade rendering.
Finally, Qualcomm previewed the new photography features that the Snapdragon 888 will enable, including the Snapdragon 888 capturing 2.7 gigapixels per second, or about 120 frames per second at the 12-megapixel resolution, thanks to an updated ISP. Qualcomm says that image processing is 35 percent faster than the previous generation.
Qualcomm announces 14 Snapdragon 888 Partners
During the powerful event, Qualcomm also officially announced the first Snapdragon 888 partner brands, ranked as follows (alphabetical order). Asus, Black Shark, Lenovo, LG, Meizu, Motorola, Nubia, Realme, OnePlus, OPPO, Sharp, Vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE.
In total, 14 manufacturers have been confirmed by Qualcomm, of which 10 are domestic (Chinese) brands, with only four brands – Asus, Sharp, LG, and Motorola – having little presence in China. While all 14 brands will launch Snapdragon 888-based phones, Qualcomm has already handpicked Xiaomi’s new flagship Mi 11 as one of the earliest Snapdragon 888 phones in its official press release, note that Qualcomm said it would be one of the earliest.
Somewhat oddly, there is no mention of Samsung among the 14 brands, which also stood up for Qualcomm at last year’s Snapdragon 865 launch. Even those lucky enough to make an appearance in the official draft don’t necessarily get to launch the Snapdragon 888, such as Sony Mobile, which gets a separate honorable mention in the official draft, but is not among the launch partners!
Xperia smartphones are feature-packed with Sony’s advanced imaging and entertainment technologies, and our products need to be powered by the latest premium Snapdragon mobile platform to offer the best-in-class experiences to our fans. One of the entertainment experiences which we are very passionate about is mobile gaming, and we are overwhelmed by the incredibly positive response we’ve received from fans around the world for Xperia 1 II and Xperia 5 II. We are committed to further enhancing mobile entertainment in the 5G era and look forward to working closely with Qualcomm Technologies to continue delivering world-class mobile gaming and other experiences on the go.
Said Mitsuya Kishida, president, Sony Mobile Communications Inc.
Here are official responses from Snapdragon 888 partners
“Always Connected PCs and Chromebooks powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon compute platforms are an integral part of our portfolio,” said Jerry Kao, co-chief executive officer, Acer Inc. “Whether utilizing Windows or Chrome OS, LTE or 5G connectivity, or built for consumer, enterprise or education, our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies is delivering incredible productivity and new user experiences with lightning-fast connectivity, incredible battery life, and AI accelerated experiences in ultra-thin laptops to a spectrum of users around the world. We look forward to the innovations that the Snapdragon Tech Summit Digital 2020 will
Acer
bring to the industry.”
“I’d like to congratulate Qualcomm Technologies on announcing their flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform. I’d also like to thank Qualcomm Technologies for their full support during these extraordinary times. The fact that the upcoming ROG Phone will use Snapdragon 888 represents a significant milestone in our strong relationship with Qualcomm Technologies,” said Bryan Chang, general manager of the ASUS smartphone business unit.
ASUS
“Black Shark will launch our new product in 2021 Q1, which will be the first wave of smartphones to feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform. I would like to congratulate Qualcomm Technologies on introducing the new Snapdragon 888,” said Harrison Luo, co-founder, and chief executive officer, Black Shark.
Black Shark
Per Narvinger, head of product area networks at Ericsson, said “5G is a platform for innovation. It has huge potential to transform entire industries with game-changing applications for consumers and enterprises. This demonstration with Qualcomm Technologies and Verizon showcases one of many innovations made possible by 5G technology. It builds on many years of collaborations, inspiring us to move beyond boundaries and realize the full benefits 5G can bring.”
Ericsson
“Our work with Qualcomm Technologies is aligned with our mission to make the latest Natural Language Processing technology accessible to researchers and businesses around the globe, and run as fast and efficiently as possible” said Clément Delangue, co-founder and chief executive officer of Hugging Face. “We need our models to run on the most premium of mobile platforms… and that means the Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platform.”
Hugging Face
“NTT DOCOMO has been a leading mobile innovator in Japan for nearly 30 years and this leadership has continued into the 5G era, as the first operator in Japan to launch commercial 5G service in March this year,” said Naoki Tani, executive vice president, and chief technology officer, NTT DOCOMO, INC.
“5G enables a new era of mobile experiences that are making people’s lives more convenient and comfortable, and these experiences are being brought to life on the DOCOMO 5G network through our exciting portfolio of 5G devices powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 5G Mobile Platforms. We look forward to the next generation of 5G devices powered by Qualcomm Technologies’ industry-leading Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform to deliver the best experiences on DOCOMO’s 5G network.”
NTT DOCOMO
“Meizu and Qualcomm Technologies have worked together to bring popular smartphones including Meizu 17 to users. I would like to congratulate Qualcomm Technologies on the successful launch of the new flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform,” said Dongming Liang, chief technology officer, Meizu. “In the future, we look forward to collaborating with Qualcomm Technologies to create more high-quality smartphones that meet the core needs of users, and jointly drive 5G ecosystem expansion and improve user experience.”
Meizu
“In collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Motorola’s 5G smartphones are now available at over 100 partners across the globe. The new flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform raises the bar for 5G experiences on future Lenovo and Motorola devices and is integral in continuing our 5G for all commitment. Looking ahead, we are excited to unleash a platform with more powerful experiences in gaming, artificial intelligence, and camera technologies that will change the way we work, study, and play in today’s world.”
Motorola
“With the powerful performance of Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Mobile Platform and unique thermal architecture from Nubia, the upcoming Nubia, and RedMagic devices will continue to be the kings of performance loved by our users, who will be able to enjoy more extreme experiences in 2021,” said Yu Hang, senior vice president, Nubia.
nubia
“In collaboration with Epic Games, the OnePlus 8 Series became the first smartphones to deliver Fortnite at 90 FPS, a groundbreaking mobile gaming achievement made possible by Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gaming features,” said Kyle Kiang, chief marketing officer, OnePlus.
OnePlus
“Verizon is on the forefront of showcasing the transformative capabilities of 5G Ultra Wideband,” said Nicola Palmer, chief product officer at Verizon. “Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit Digital 2020 is an opportunity to reflect on the successes we’ve had this year, including launching nationwide 5G coverage, dozens of 5G Ultra-Wideband cities, MEC deployments, and a multitude of 5G devices and innovations. It also allows us to look towards 2021 as we continue to bring the possibilities of 5G to life for businesses, individuals, and society.”
Verizon
“Vivo and iQOO will soon launch mobile phone products with the brand-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform. Powered by the new Snapdragon 888, the flagship product from Vivo and iQOO will bring consumers better photography and imaging capabilities, more powerful gaming experiences, high-speed and convenient 5G connectivity with more smart features,” said Boshan Hu, the executive vice president, and chief operating officer of Vivo said.
“Vivo and Qualcomm Technologies will also continue working together around innovative breakthrough technologies, such as mmWave, and we are excited to work with Qualcomm Technologies to promote the continued development of the global 5G ecosystem and the Internet of Everything.”
Vivo
“Over the past decade, from the first generation of Xiaomi mobile phones to the 10th-anniversary masterpiece Xiaomi 10 series, we have been joining hands together with Qualcomm Technologies to bring the most advanced mobile experiences to users around the world,” said Lei Jun, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Xiaomi.
“Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Mobile Platform is the most powerful mobile platform from Qualcomm Technologies ever. In addition to the industry-leading 5G connectivity, it has brought groundbreaking breakthroughs and innovations in AI, gaming, and camera. I’m glad that our new flagship smartphone Mi 11 will be one of the first devices with Snapdragon 888. This is another cutting-edge product from us and will be loade with various hardcore technologies.”
Xiaomi
Luo Wei, vice president of, ZTE said, “Qualcomm Technologies has once again set a new bar for the industry in terms of mobile computing, 5G connectivity, image processing, and artificial intelligence. I’m grateful for Qualcomm Technologies’ continuous efforts and outstanding contributions to the industry! ZTE will continue to join hands with Qualcomm Technologies in 2021 to build our new generation of flagship smartphone using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform, which will be a masterpiece with a combination of art and technology to bring an epoch-making experience to users.
ZTE
Qualcomm will announce more details of the Snapdragon 888 platform on the second day of Tech Summit, so stay tuned for further updates.