Qualcomm Inc. today revealed its new top-end chip for smartphones and tablets, the Snapdragon 865 Plus, which promises 10% higher performance than its predecessor and faster wireless connections.

Qualcomm Inc. is one of the main semiconductor suppliers to the mobile device industry. It typically introduces a new flagship chip annually, followed by a more powerful second edition of the same chip a few months later. The Snapdragon 865 Plus is the upgraded version of Qualcomm’s current flagship, the Snapdragon 865, which can be found in more than 140 devices.

The biggest improvement is in the performance department. The so-called prime core in the Snapdragon 865 Plus’ central processing unit is 10% faster with a clock frequency of up to 3.1 gigahertz, making it the mobile CPU to cross the symbolic 3GHz mark. Qualcomm has also tuned up the onboard graphics processing unit, giving it a similar 10% speed boost.

The third major feature of the Snapdragon 865 Plus is that handset makers can pair it with Qualcomm’s FastConnect 6900 wireless chips. Announced in May, the chips provide Wi-Fi speeds of up to 3.6 gigabits per second by using the 6GHz frequency band the U.S. government made available earlier this year. The 6GHz band triples the amount of airwave space available for Wi-Fi use, allowing devices to transmit data over more parts of the spectrum at once and thereby speed up connections.

Qualcomm says the new Snapdragon chip will boost several key mobile use cases. Alex Katouzian, the head of the company’s mobile division, said in a video message that the Snapdragon 865 Plus is designed to enable “extremely high performance AI” and “gigapixel camera support.” Qualcomm is also promising a performance improvement for mobile games, saying the chip can render video games at a rate of up to 144 frames per second.

Qualcomm sells silicon for mobile devices at different price ranges. It offers high-end chips such as the Snapdragon 865 Plus alongside processors that target  mid- and low-range Android devices, which account for the majority of Android handsets. Qualcomm is working to expand its presence in this part of the market by adding 5G features to its lower-end chip families, an effort that’s helping to expand the availability of next-generation networking to more users globally.

Qualcomm expects hardware makers to announce the first devices based on the Snapdragon 865 Plus this quarter. Like the earlier Snapdragon 865, it provides 5G support through integration with the chipmaker’s X55 modem. 

Image: Qualcomm