At Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Technology Summit in Hawaii, the company revealed its latest flagship chipset Snapdragon 845. This chip will not only power the 2018 flagship devices but as well as the Always connected PCs. Qualcomm says it is greater and better version of the previous generation SD 835.
Samsung and Huawei recently unveiled their flagship chips respectively Samsung Exynos 9810 and HiSilicon Kirin 970. As we all know Apple did something future proof with their Apple A11 bionic chip which has unbelievable benchmark scores. So here is the Qualcomm’s approach to its latest and greatest Snapdragon 845.
Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform Overview:
- 10 nm FinFET Technology
- Microarchitecture: ARMv8-A
- Cores: 8x Kryo 385 (4x Cortex-A75 up to 2.8 GHz + 4x Cortex-A55 up to 1.8 GHz)
- L2 cache: 1MB for Cortex-A75 and 512KB for Cortex-A55
- L3 cache: 2 MB
- GPU: Adreno 630
- Camera: Up to 32MP / 16MP +16MP
- Video Recording: Up to 4K Ultra HD video capture @ 60 FPS with HDR10 Support
- Max screen resolution: 2x 2400×2400 @ 120 FPS (VR) with 10-bit color depth
- Modem: X20- LTE 1.2 Gbps (Down) / 150 Mbps (Up)
- Wi-Fi: Qualcomm Wi-Fi 802.11ad Multi-gigabit
- AI Platform: Hexagon 685
- Quick Charge: Quick Charge 4/4+
Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform Spec Details:
Kryo 385 CPU:
The Kryo 385 was announced as a part of the Snapdragon 845 in December 2017. Built on a 10nm process the SoC contains eight semi-custom cores, 4 high-performance “Gold” cores and 4 efficiencies “Silver” cores. Each Gold core features a 256KB L2 cache and each Silver core features a 128KB L2 cache. Four of them are dedicated to performance and are based on the Cortex-A75 architecture, while the other four are based on the Cortex-A55 and run up to 1.8 GHz. Qualcomm expects 25-30% increased performance in task run on the high-performance cores, and 15% increase in efficiency cores while comparing to the Snapdragon 835.
Adreno 630 GPU:
Qualcomm didn’t reveal much about the Adreno 630 but promised “30% faster graphics and 30% better power efficiency”. It will have 2.5x faster display throughput resulting a 2K x 2K display can effortlessly run at 120 Hz. The Adreno 630 will also power up mobile VR experiences like a Gear VR or Google Daydream.
Hexagon 685 DSP:
The Hexagon 685 DSP is an AI image coprocessor. The 3rd Generation Qualcomm Hexagon 685 DSP supports on-device AI processing. It is three times faster than the Hexagon 682 that is in the Snapdragon 835. It will support Android 8.1 Oreo’s Neural Networks API. DSPs have been shown to consume a lot less power than CPUs or GPUs when performing certain tasks.
Hexagon 685 should help to identify and analyze objects more efficiently by enhancing AI-based visual recognition. The AI improves multiple other features, from face-unlock and single camera Bokeh effects to smarter voice assistants. SD 845 will also support multiple assistants like Google, Alexa, and Cortana. The Hexagon 685 DSP will also deliver a more enhanced Augmenting Reality experience.
Spectra 280 ISP:
Qualcomm’s Spectra 280 ISP (image signal processor) is the second generation ISP. It’s redesigned to offer best in class photo and video, even in low light conditions.
Spectra 280 ISP Features:
- Up to 16 MP dual camera
- Up to 32 MP single camera
- Dual 14-bit ISPs
- Hybrid Autofocus
- Hardware Accelerated Face Detection
- Multi-frame Noise Reduction (MFNR)
- Active Depth Sensing
- HDR Video Recording
- 10-bit, 4K Ultra HD @ 60 FPS capture and playback
- Support for HDR10, HLG
- H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), VP9
- Motion Compensated Temporal Filtering (MCTF)
- Slow Motion video capture (720p@480fps)
Other key features include slow-motion video, HDR recording, and high-speed performance capture. In Motion, a feature that uses computational photography and video capture to superimpose a still image on a moving background. It has an improved electronic image stabilization (EIS) will improve overall image quality. As a result, Qualcomm expects 2018’s flagship handsets to score 100+ on the DxO camera benchmark test.
X20 Modem & Wi-Fi:
Snapdragon 845 comes with Qualcomm’s new X20 LTE modem, which offers CAT 18 speeds. That means it supports Download speeds up to 1.2 Gbps and Upload speeds up to 150 Mbps. It features lightning-fast speeds with 802.11ad multi-gigabit Wi-Fi and integrated 2×2 802.11ac. Wi-Gig is a super-fast way to transmit data over short distances, and it is a faster acquisition of networks on 802.11ac. Bluetooth 5.0 tuned specifically to make wireless ear-buds work better with reduced battery consumption.
Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit (SPU):
Qualcomm designed a dedicated Secure Processing Unit (SPU) that is engineered to help protect personal data with vault-like security. Biometrics (fingerprint, iris, face, and voice), payment details and other highly sensitive data used for authentication can be stored in isolation. It will ensure it’s not accessible to hackers and other prying eyes. This SPU has its own microprocessor, own memory, own crypto engine and its own random number generator. The SPU can even be used to generate keys for text messages in apps like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp.
Other Features:
On the Audio Processing part, it features Qualcomm Aqstic audio codec and speaker amplifier, aptX audio playback with support for aptX Classic and HD, Native DSD support and PCM up to 384kHz/32bit. In addition, Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ technology is capable of up to a 50% charge in only 15 minutes.
Snapdragon 845 Expected Devices:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 expected to smartphone manufacturers in early 2018. Lei Jun, Xiaomi CEO already announced that the Xiaomi Mi 7 will be the first device to feature SD 845. So that means Samsung Galaxy S9 will be the second device and followed by L.G at third position the G7 will Come with SD 845.
Also, have a look at Apple A11 Bionic Chip: The Genesis