Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon 888 For 5G Premium Mobile Devices At Innovative Snapdragon Summit Digital 2020

At a futuristic, highly-innovative digital press conference this morning, Qualcomm Technologies unveiled its Snapdragon 888 Mobile Platform for a new generation of 5G-connected premium mobile devices. SVP And GM Mobile, Compute And Infrastructure, Alex Katouzian and Director Of Product Management, Lekha Motiwala, joined Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon on virtual stages to unveil the company’s latest silicon platform, which is set to bring new, more immersive, intelligent and capable 5G-connected experiences in the coming new year. The company highlighted numerous advancements for the platform, both in terms of 5G wireless connectivity, AI and machine learning, gaming and computational photography.

But why the Snapdragon “888” branding you ask? For Qualcomm, the number 8 has always signified its premium tier of products for generations now. With this launch, the company is signaling an evolution of its Snapdragon mobile platform that marks a major lift in premium mobile computing experiences, features and capabilities.

Snapdragon 888 Brings Major Advancements In Connectivity, Gaming, AI And Imaging

Though the company is saving more detailed information for day 2 of its Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm execs noted that Snapdragon 888 will also fully integrate the company’s Snapdragon X60 5G Modem-RF (radio front-end) System, a first for Qualcomm in its high-end tier, which is built on a 5nm semiconductor fab process. The solution will support both mmWave and sub-6 spectrums, in addition to 5G carrier aggregation, global multi-SIM, standalone and non-standalone connectivity, along with Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) for better coverage and more efficient use of spectrum assets. Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon also highlighted carrier aggregation as a major enabling technology that will allow 5G carrier networks to deliver up to 2x the bandwidth and significantly longer reach.

On the processing side of the equation Snapdragon 888 was claimed to deliver the most significant upgrade in the company’s Adreno graphics engine yet. In addition, the company noted a tripling of its Spectra ISP processing engine for faster processing of images and video, at up to 2.7 Gigapixels per second, or 12o 12MP photos up to 35% faster than the previous-generation Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform. In fact, Qualcomm’s Amon noted that the camera system can capture up to 200 megapixel resolution, as well as 8K and 4K HDR video recording. Qualcomm demonstrated the camera technology with a professional videographer from China National Geographic, and the results were simply stunning.

Snapdragon 888 Demos Impress

Also in terms of demos, a number of execs from Sony, OnePlus and others showcased impressive gaming experiences. “In collaboration with Epic Games, the OnePlus 8 Series became the first smartphones to deliver Fortnite at 90 FPS, a groundbreaking mobile gaming achievement made possible by Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gaming,” said Kyle Kiang, chief marketing officer, OnePlus.

However, perhaps what was most impactful was Qualcomm’s RC car demo. The cars were connected to a private 5G network courtesy of Verizon and Ericsson, and controlled via a Snapdragon 888 reference design phones with Snapdragon X60 5G modems. The drivers controlled the cars from over a mile away, while viewing a live video feed from the car on their handsets with the capture capabilities of the phone. This demo was a really cool showcase of not only the processing power of Snapdragon 888, but also the power of Snapdragon mobile location technologies and ultra-low latency, high speed 5G wireless connectivity.

A number of device OEMs have already stepped out in support for Snapdragon 888, including ASUS, Black Shark, Lenovo, LG, MEIZU, Motorola, Nubia, realme, OnePlus, OPPO, Sharp, vivo, Xiaomi, and ZTE to name a few. I expect we’ll learn more about the new Snapdragon 888 Mobile Platform in deep dive detail tomorrow, during the company’s day 2 Snapdragon Summit 20202 keynote.

Speaking of which, again, the summit itself is being hosted on an innovative virtual platform, in a virtual conference hall with virtual conference rooms. It’s a testament to Qualcomm’s obvious leadership in innovation. I’ve participated in a host of remote events this year in our new COVID-19 work-from-home reality, and Qualcomm has set the bar for engaging, immersive and innovative meeting experiences as well. Though the virtual event is only accessible to press and analysts, you can catch the key note live stream here.