Qualcomm finally disclosed more details of its newest flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 835, in its keynote presentation in CES 2017.
The chipmaker came up with a lot of improvements across the board when it replaced the Snapdragon 820/821 as its premium chipset. It also incorporated a host of new features such as the Bluetooth 5 using Samsung's 10nm manufacturing node.
Qualcomm's previous top-of-the-line processor — the Snapdragon 821 — was no slouch when it comes to the performance department, but the new chipset offers a whole lot more when it comes to energy efficiency and speed.
Snapdragon 835 vs Snapdragon 821
Let's take a look at some of the key aspects where the Snapdragon 835 beats the Snapdragon 821:
• Speed And Energy Consumption
According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 835 is 27 percent faster and will consume 40 percent less power, while its size will be 30 percent smaller than the previous reiteration.
• CPU
The Snapdragon 835 combines the power of the Kryo 280 CPU and Adreno 540 GPU, compared to the 821's Adreno 530 GPU. Because of the chipset's power, the company sees that it will be used in plenty of VR and AR head-mounted displays aside from smartphones and tablets.
It will render 3D graphics 25 percent faster, and provide more display colors and better audio, making it the perfect chipset to use for immersive VR games and shows. The company also says that the latest Snapdragon will lessen motion tracking latency to improve and enrich VR experiences.
• Battery Life
Qualcomm also greatly improved its flagship's battery life. The company says that the chip can last a day's worth of talk time, more than five days of music streaming, more than 7 hours of 4K video streaming, and more than 3 hours of 4K video playback.
• Quick Charging
Qualcomm also announced the Quick Charge 4.0 when it introduced the Snapdragon 835. The company boasts it will have 20 percent faster charging time compared to the Snapdragon 821's Quick Charge 3.0.
• Camera
In the imaging department, the Snapdragon 835 offers the 14-bit dual Spectra image signal processors (ISPs) that can support up to 32 megapixel cameras, while the 821 can provide support of up to 28 megapixels.
• Bluetooth
The Snapdragon 835 will offer Bluetooth 5, which will double the bandwidth being offered in Snapdragon 821's Bluetooth 4.2.
If you are thinking of purchasing a new smartphone this year, you might want to postpone it until spring, which is when the Snapdragon 835 processor is expected to make its way to consumer devices.
