When Qualcomm announced that it is already developing the Snapdragon 835 processor, some fear that the production for the Snapdragon 830 might just have been nipped in the bud. This speculation seems to be incorrect as rumors now indicate that the 830 will still debut in the second half of 2017.
Reports are coming from China where accessory manufacturers are confirming not just the existence of the chip but also its key features. Some information had also made their way on Weibo, the country's popular micro blogging network.
Snapdragon 830 Specs
Unlike the Snapdragon 835, the Snapdragon 830 has not been officially confirmed. The public, therefore, must make do with rumored specifications such as the possibility of an embedded Adreno 519 graphics processing unit.
Other features include support for Category 12 baseband and six or eight Kryo 200 cores that will be produced using the 10nm FinFET process, which Qualcomm said it is using to manufacture the Snapdragon 835.
"Using the new 10nm process node is expected to allow our premium tier Snapdragon 835 processor to deliver greater power efficiency and increase performance while also allowing us to add a number of new capabilities that can improve the user experience of tomorrow's mobile devices," Keith Kressin, senior vice president for product management at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. said.
There is no word yet whether the Snapdragon 830 will sport a smaller chip footprint because the 10nm process is reportedly going to do that for the Snapdragon 835.
Quick Charge And INOV Battery Technology
Another notable feature for the Snapdragon 830 involves the support for the Quick Charge 4.0 technology. This is Qualcomm's proprietary charging solution that uses the widely touted Intelligent Negotiation for Optimum Voltage (INOV).
This technology is capable of accurately identifying the amount of power that the battery can take at specific moments so that the charging process can consistently funnel immense amounts of energy without overheating the battery.
It is worth noting that there seems to be a discrepancy in the rumored 2017 release of the Snapdragon 830. Qualcomm announced that its Quick Charge 4.0 technology will be released in the first half of 2017 and it corroborates the Galaxy S8's expected launch. But this means the 830 would be released later, which does not make sense.
Two Flagship Chips
It is not yet clear whether the Snapdragon 830 will be catering to premium or mid-range devices. However, it could likely power key Android- compatible flagships because the Snapdragon 835 is a collaboration between Qualcomm and Samsung. It is widely speculated to ship with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the chipset could be exclusive to the handset.
Two flagship chips are also aligned with the norm at Qualcomm with the exception of this year. The Snapdragon 821 chip was released significantly later than the Snapdragon 820.
Whatever the case is, the tech world has been quivering with excitement as to what particular features and performance improvements it is bringing to the table.
