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Qualcomm announces next-generation Snapdragon 810 and 808 processors

The Snapdragon 810 and 808 processors are Qualcomm's fastest silicon to date, and will bring 64-bit support, LTE-equipped chipsets, and better power consumption to premium smartphones and tablets.
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer

Mobile chip giant Qualcomm has unveiled its next-generation mobile processors for the Snapdragon 800 family, the Snapdragon 810 and 808 processors.

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The Snapdragon 810 and 808 processors are Qualcomm's fastest silicon to date, and the 64-bit enabled LTE-equipped chipsets are destined for premium smartphones and tablets. Both the processors feature Qualcomm's fourth-generation Cat 6 LTE Advanced multimode modem which brings with it support for the Qualcomm RF360 Front End Solution, and support for 3x20MHz Carrier Aggregation that enables speeds of up to 300 Mbps across the widest range of carriers. 

"The announcement of the Snapdragon 810 and 808 processors underscore Qualcomm Technologies' continued commitment to technology leadership and a time-to-market advantage for our customers for premium tier 64-bit LTE-enabled smartphones and tablets," said Murthy Renduchintala, executive vice president, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and co-president, QCT. "These product announcements, in combination with the continued development of our next-generation custom 64-bit CPU, will ensure we have a tremendous foundation on which to innovate as we continue to push the boundaries of mobile computing performance in the years to come."

Both processors are built using 20-nanometer architecture, and along with Cat 6 LTE they offer support for advanced multimedia features and bring with them 64-bit support. The processors are also optimized for low power consumption without giving up performance, making the 810 and 808 the first premium-tier 64-bit processors to enable LTE Advanced globally with a single design.

The Snapdragon 810 processor also bring with them:

  • The 64-bit quad core ARM Cortex-A57 CPUs and Cortex-A53 CPUs implementing the new efficient ARMv8-A ISA improved instruction set.
  • Native 4K Ultra HD interface and video, along with an upgraded camera suite using gyro-stabilization and 3D noise reduction for producing high quality 4K video at 30 frames per second and 1080p video at 120 frames per second.
  • The Qualcomm Adreno 430 GPU that supports the OpenGL ES 3.1 plus hardware tessellation, geometry shaders and programmable blending. This GPU is designed to deliver up to 30 percent faster graphics performance and 100 percent faster GPGPU compute performance, while reducing power consumption by up to 20 percent, as compared to its predecessor.
  • High speed LPDDR4 memory.
  • Frame buffer compression and external 4K display support via HDMI1.4.
  • Better wi-fi performance than to Qualcomm's VIVE 2-stream 802.11ac with multi-user MIMO.
  • Support for Bluetooth 4.1, USB 3.0, NFC and the latest Qualcomm IZat location core for ubiquitous and highly accurate location services.

The Snapdragon 808 processor is designed to offer premium performance and features the same LTE-Advanced, RF360 and Wi-Fi connectivity as found in the Snapdragon 810, and includes 2K display support.  Both chipsets are fully software compatible with the 64-bit ARMv8-A instruction set.

However, there are some differences between the 810 and 808, and these include:

  • The Adreno 418 GPU is capable of powering WQXGA (2560x1600) displays, and provides support for OpenGL ES 3.1 plus hardware tessellation, geometry shaders, programmable blending.  It is up to 20 percent faster than its predecessor, the Adreno 330 GPU. 
  • The 808 is kitted out with two ARM Cortex-A57 cores paired with a quad Cortex-A53 CPU.
  • 12-bit dual Image Signal Processors.
  • LPDDR3 memory.
  • Frame buffer compression and external 4K display support via HDMI1.4.

The Snapdragon 810 and 808 processors are expected to be available in smartphones and tablets by the first half of 2015.

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