Qualcomm Snapdragon 865: Everything you need to know

As with the Snapdragon 855, the Snapdragon 865 is built with a Prime, Performance, Efficiency octa-core CPU configuration. The largest prime ... LinksonAndroidAuthoritymayearnusacommission. Learnmore. QualcommSnapdragon865:EverythingyouneedtoknowQualcommhasliftedthelidonthetechnicaldetailsofitslatestSnapdragon865flagshipmobileprocessor.FeaturesByRobertTriggs•December4,2019Followingtheofficialunveiling,todaywe’redivingdeeperintotheinsandoutsofQualcomm’sbrand-newSnapdragon865mobileapplicationprocessor.TheSnapdragon865supplants2018’sSnapdragon855asQualcomm’spremiummobileapplicationprocessor,boastingnotableimprovementstothesmartphoneindustry’shottesttrendsingaming,AI,andphotography.Forthequicktakeaways,theQualcommSnapdragon865isbuiltonTSMC’s7nmFinFETprocess.Generalperformanceisuparound25%,energyefficiencyimprovementslandinthe25%rangefromthe855,andQualcommhasoverhauledbothitsAIandimagingprocessorsolutions.There’sstillno5GintegratedmodeminsidetheSnapdragon865,althoughthat’snotnecessarilyabigproblem.Thiscanprobablybeoverlookedgiventhesheeramountofotherimprovementsthathavegoneintothe865. Snapdragon865Snapdragon855Snapdragon845CPUConfigSnapdragon865:1x2.84GHz(CortexA77)3x2.4GHz(CortexA77)4x1.8GHz(Cortex-A55)Snapdragon855:1x2.84GHz(CortexA76)3x2.42GHz(CortexA76)4x1.8GHz(Cortex-A55)Snapdragon845:4x2.8GHz(Cortex-A75)4x1.7GHz(Cortex-A55)GPUSnapdragon865:Adreno650Snapdragon855:Adreno640Snapdragon845:Adreno630DSPSnapdragon865:Hexagon698Snapdragon855:Hexagon690Snapdragon845:Hexagon685withHVXProcessSnapdragon865:7nmFinFETSnapdragon855:7nmFinFETSnapdragon845:10nmLPPFinFETCamerasupportSnapdragon865:200MPsingle/64MPsinglewithZeroShutterLag24MPdualcameraHybridAF,HDRvideo.multi-framenoisereductionSnapdragon855:48MPsingle/24MPdualHybridAF,HDRvideo.multi-framenoisereductionSnapdragon845:32MPsingle/16MPdualHybridAF,HDRvideo.multi-framenoisereductionVideocaptureSnapdragon865:8K@30fps,4KUHD@120fps,720p@960fpsSnapdragon855:4KUHD,HDR@60fpsSnapdragon845:4KUHD@60fpsVideoplaybackSnapdragon865:8K,360degree,4Kupto120fps,10-bit,H.265andVP9videodecoderSnapdragon855:8K,360degree,4Kupto120fps,10-bit,H.265andVP9videodecoderSnapdragon845:4KUHD@60fps,10-bitH.264(AVC)andH.265(HEVC)ChargingSnapdragon865:QuickCharge4+QuickChargeAISnapdragon855:QuickCharge4+Snapdragon845:QuickCharge4+ModemSnapdragon865:X555G&RFsystem7500Mbpsdown3000MbpsupSnapdragon855:X24LTE2000Mbpsdown316MbpsupSnapdragon845:x20LTE1200Mbpsdown150Mbpsup Snapdragon865CPUandGPUdeepdive AttheheartofeverysmartphonechipsetisaCPUandGPUcombo.Youwon’tfindamorepowerfulduothantheSnapdragon865’sKryo585CPUandAdreno650GPU.AswiththeSnapdragon855,theSnapdragon865isbuiltwithaPrime,Performance,Efficiencyocta-coreCPUconfiguration.ThelargestprimecoreisanArmCortex-A77clockedat2.85GHzandpairedwitha512kbL2memorycacheforpeakperformance.ThreemorebigCortex-A77coresflanktheprimecore,offering2.4GHzpeakclockspeedsandsmaller256kbL2caches.TheCortex-A77isthemostpowerfulArmCPUdesigntodate,withmorethanenoughpowertorunthemostdemandingappsandmobilegamesaround.NeithertheKirin990norExynos990featurethisCPUcore—they’rebasedontheolderCortex-A76(andSamsung’scustomM4coreintheExynos’case).Thesmallerpowerefficiencycoresaremorefamiliarfromlastyear.ThesearefourCortex-A55coreswith128kbL2cachesand1.8GHzclockspeeds.It’sbasicallythesamesetupaslastyear.Overall,Qualcommpromisesa25%boosttobothperformanceandpowerefficiencythisgeneration.Onthegamingside,theSnapdragon865isequippedwithanAdreno650GPU.Qualcommpromisesasimilar25%performancegainforgraphicsrendering,withenergyefficiencyimprovedby35%aswell.TherearenewfeaturesforgamersintheSnapdragonElitepackage,whichinclude144HzforQHD+resolutiondisplays,10-bitHDRgaming,DesktopForwardRenderingsupportinUnrealEngine4games,andGPUupdatesprovidedviaGooglePlay. TheAdreno650GPUcanbeupdatedviatheGooglePlayStore—afirstforAndroidphones. Thislastpointisparticularlyinteresting.QualcommhasworkedcloselywithGoogletoseparateitsAdrenoGPUdriversfromtherestofthesystem,allowingforsimpleupdatesoverGooglePlay.Newfeatures,performanceimprovements,andevengameoptimizationscanbedeliveredquickly,withnomorehasslethanupdatinganapp.ThisbringsmobilegaminganotherstepclosertoPCgaming. Poweringnext-genartificialintelligenceSmartphonemachinelearning(orAI)capabilitieshavecomeonleapsandboundsinthepastcoupleofyears,andQualcommis(quiteliterally)doublingdownonitscapabilitiesthisgeneration.ThenewHexagon698DSPboastsanewTensoracceleratorspecificallyformachinelearningworkloads.Thisnewpartoffers4xTOPSperformanceand35%betterenergyefficiencythanQualcomm’spreviousHexagonDSP,whichintroducedadedicatedTensoracceleratortotheSnapdragon855.However,machinelearningisasystem-widesolutionforQualcomm.ThecompanycallsthisitsAIEngine,whichentersitsfifthgenerationwiththeSnapdragon865.Tothatend,thechipsetincludesa3MBsystemcache,upfrom2MBpreviously,andsupportsLPDDR52750MHzRAMtomovedatafasterthanbefore.This,combinedwiththeCPU,GPU,andDSP/AIprocessingcapabilities,resultsinawhopping15TOPSofAIperformance.That’sdoublewhatwasonofferwiththeSnapdragon855andcomfortablyaheadofthecompetition. Alsoread:WhattheQualcommSnapdragon865meansforyournextsmartphone 5GAlthoughtheindustryisgraduallymovingtowardsintegrated5Gmodems,theSnapdragon865,justlikeitspredecessor,stillrequiresanexternalmodemfor5Gconnectivity.Qualcommenvisionsthatpartnerswillpairthe865upwiththeSnapdragonX555Gmodem.TheKirin990,Exynos990,andSnapdragon765featureintegrated5Gcomponents,althoughthey’reeasilyhalfthespeedoftheX55.TheX55offersallthelatest5Gbellsandwhistles,we’lljusthavetowaitanotheryearforthesetobeintegratedinsidetheSoC.TheSnapdragonX55supportsbothmmWaveandsub-6GHzspectrum,justlikeitspredecessor.Theoreticalpeakspeedshit7.6Gbpsdownloadandupto3Gbpsupload.However,you’llneedaperfectalignmentofnetworkconditionsandcapabilitiestoreachsuchloftyspeeds.Otherimportantfeaturesinclude5GStandalone(SA)andNon-Standalone(NSA)networksupport,5GFDDforEurope,4G/5Gspectrumsharing,and100MHzenvelopetracking.Inotherwords,there’severythingyouneedheretogetupandrunningonglobal5Gnetworks.TheSnapdragon865stillrequiresanexternalmodemfor5Gconnectivity.Requiringanexternalmodemhassomedrawbacksforpowerconsumption.Integratedmodemsaresimplymoreefficient,butQualcommistargetingmaximumperformancewiththe865.AlthoughgiventheX55isQualcomm’ssecond-generation5Gmodem,theenergyefficiencyshouldbeimprovedovertheX50that’sbeenusedwithSnapdragon855handsets.Qualcommisalsobillingthisasacomplete5G“modemtoantenna”solutionforthe865.Packagingradiopower,frequencytuning,andantennastogetherwiththemodemforaone-stop5Gsolution. Readmore:Whythere’snointegrated5GmodemintheSnapdragon865 TakingtheperfectpicturePhotographyisacornerstoneofthemodernsmartphoneexperience,andanewprocessorwouldn’tbecompletewithoutsomeimagingimprovements.TheSnapdragon865makessomemajorchangestotheimagesignalprocessor(ISP),producingnotablenewcapabilitiesandfeaturesforusers.Theseincludesupportforupto200MPcamerasensors,720p960fpsslow-motionvideorecordingwithnotimelimit,8K30fpsvideocapture,on-deviceDolbyVisionHDR,andupto64MPinstantsnapswhilerecordingvideo.QualcommhasachievedthisbychangingtheinnerworkingsofitsSpectraISP.Ratherthanprocessingonepixelperclockcycle,theSpectraISPnowworksonfourpixelspercycle.Asaresult,QualcommhasdroppedtheclockspeedoftheISPtomakemajorpowersavings,whilestillpushingperformanceupby40%totwogigapixelspersecond.ThepowersavingsalsomeanacoolerISP,andthustheabilitytorecord960fpswithnotimelimits.TheSnapdragon865stillhasallthe855’scomputervisionISPcapabilities,speedingupprocessingofHDR,scenedetection,andnoisereductioninlowlight.Combinedwiththe865’sothermachinelearningcapabilities,2020’sphonesaresettobecomputationalpowerhouses.BesuretocheckoutourinterviewwithQualcomm’sJuddHeape,SeniorDirectorofProductManagementforalltheinsandoutsoftheSnapdragon865’scameracapabilities. Snapdragon865in2020flagshipphones TheQualcommSnapdragon865doesn’tdisappointperformanceenthusiasts.FromarangeofgeneralperformanceimprovementstodedicatedAI,photography,andgamingfeatures,the865excelsateverydemandyoucanthrowatit.However,withtheaffordableflagship-tierSnapdragon765alsoofferingexcellentperformanceand5Gcapabilities,the865isperhapsnotthemostindustry-shiftingchipsetheadingtothemarketnextyear.TheSnapdragon865willalmostcertainlypowermostof2020’shighprofilesmartphonereleasesfromSamsung,Google,OnePlus,andothers.ExpecttoseeflagshiphandsetssportingQualcomm’slatestpremiumtierchiplaunchinQ12020. FeaturesNewsQualcommQualcommSnapdragon865Comments