Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 835 is tailor-made for VR and superfast charging

Kyle Wiggers
By

qualcomm
Karlis Dambrans/Flickr
Thought your next phone couldn’t get any thinner, lighter, faster, and more power-efficient than your current model? Think again. At chipmaker Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Technology Summit in New York in November, the firm unveiled its most impressive silicon yet — the Snapdragon 835.

The processor’s built on 10-nanometer FinFET process. In plain English, that basically means it is more compact than the current top-of-the-line Snapdragon 821, which is built on 14nm tech. Qualcomm said the new architecture packs 30 percent more parts into the same space and has a significantly smaller footprint, improvements which it contends will allow for “slimmer [smartphone] designs” and “larger batteries.” Those and other enhancements help to deliver 27 percent better performance, a 40 percent reduction in power draw, and “significant” gains in battery life.

Recommended Videos

The processor’s other big advancement involves rapid battery charging. Currently, Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 standard tops out at 80 percent capacity after 15 minutes of charging, but the next iteration, Quick Charge 4.0, features a 20 percent improvement in speed and a 30 percent improvement in energy efficiency. That translates to up to five hours of extra battery life in just five minutes of charging, or 50 percent of a battery’s capacity in 15 minutes.

Related

Qualcomm said the rapid charging tech is fully compatible with both the USB Type-C and USB Power delivery specifications ratified by the USB-Implementers Forum, the industry  body that standardizes USB technologies. Previous implementations of Qualcomm’s tech, including a few packed into the Snapdragon 821, run afoul of spec by manipulating voltage to reduce recharge times and employing workarounds to set charging speed. Qualcomm said that Quick Charge 4.0, in contrast, is fully compliant.

It is also in line with Google’s compatibility document for future Android devices, a draft of which the company published this week. In it, the search giant called for USB Type-C devices that “support[ed] full interoperability with standard Type-C chargers” — a requirement which Qualcomm’s previous Snapdragon chips did not meet.

The new processor also packs a wealth of protections against the sort of catastrophic heat buildup exhibited by Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7. One, the latest generation of the company’s INOV (Intelligent Negotiation for Optimum Voltage) software, monitors power transfer in real time to ensure it does not exceed safe operating temperatures. Four levels of thermal protection — some at the chassis, others at the battery, and several inside the chip itself — sense the type and quality of plugged-in charging cables. New features extend the longevity of the battery — Qualcomm said it will maintain at least 80 percent of its original capacity after 500 charge cycles.

The company is teaming up with electronics behemoth Samsung to build the processors, which it expects to begin shipping in the first half of 2017. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to work closely with Qualcomm Technologies in producing the Snapdragon 835 using our 10nm FinFET technology,” Jong Shik Yoon, Samsung’s executive vice president and head of its foundry business, said in a press release. “This collaboration is an important milestone for our foundry business as it signifies confidence in Samsung’s leading chip process technology.”

You can expect it to begin appearing in new smartphones in the coming months.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Kyle Wiggers
Kyle Wiggers
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…
Dimensity 9000 vs. Snapdragon 888: How new MediaTek flagship threatens Qualcomm
A render of the MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor.

The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset is intended to launch the Taiwanese chipmaker into the mainstream on the back of performance that rivals the 800-pound gorillas in the room, like Apple's A15 Bionic and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and 888 Plus mobile platforms. While the new chip appears solid on paper, how well is it actually equipped to take on these competitors? We take a look.
What's the big deal about Dimensity?
Many smartphone companies are following in Apple's footsteps, with plans to launch their own systems on a chip (SoC) to cut away from their dependence on a single brand and mitigate the effects of the global semiconductor shortage. As a result, many companies are trying to find their place in a race that is currently led by Qualcomm. Aside from smartphone companies moving production in-house, underdogs like MediaTek are also vying for a share in the flagship market. The result of this is the new and powerful MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset, which is tailored to take on the leaders in the segment.

MediaTek's Dimensity series has already made headlines around the world after being used on popular devices such as the OnePlus Nord 2 and the Realme X7 Max, both of which run the Dimensity 1200. Although high-end, these are not flagship or premium devices, and truth be told, MediaTek hasn't really had a truly flagship chipset -- until now. With the Dimensity 9000, MediaTek aims to challenge the invariable monopoly of the Snapdragon 8xx series in the flagship Android smartphone market.
Dimensity 9000
The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 has many firsts up its sleeves. Besides being the first mobile SoC to be manufactured on a 4nm process, it is the first one to use TSMC's new N4 design. This design choice gives it an edge over the Snapdragon 888, the Apple A15 Bionic, and the Samsung Exynos 2100 — all of which are based on 5nm designs. Qualcomm's shift of its chip manufacturing from TSMC to Samsung's foundries presents an opportunity for MediaTek to fill this gap and benefit significantly because of the smaller node — thus, leading the industry in this respect.
New Core Architecture

Read more
Qualcomm launches new Snapdragon 5G and 4G mid-tier chipsets
qualcomm snapdragon 778G+ 695 480+ 680 5G 4G MOBILE PLATFORM

Qualcomm usually refreshes its mid-range Snapdragon chipsets once a year. Breaking tradition, the chipmaker has now announced mid-cycle upgrades to several chipsets in the Snapdragon 7xx, 6xx, and 4xx series. The new launches include three 5G-enabled mobile platforms, including Snapdragon 778G Plus 5G, Snapdragon 695 5G, and Snapdragon 480 Plus 5G. Launched alongside these chipsets with 5G connectivity is the Snapdragon 680 with only 4G connectivity.

The Snapdragon 778G Plus and the Snapdragon 480 Plus offer minor upgrades over the Snapdragon 778G and 480 chipsets released earlier this year. Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 695 and the Snapdragon 680 are new additions to Qualcomm's lineup of mobile platforms. All of these offer minor upgrades instead of anything major as part of the company's fallback plan to keep its lineup refreshed despite the global semiconductor crisis.

Read more
Qualcomm and Asus have made their own ultimate Android phone
The Asus Qualcomm Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders.

Qualcomm has collaborated with Asus to make its definition of the ultimate Android smartphone. It’s called the Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders, and as the clunky name suggests, it’s designed primarily as a perk for Qualcomm’s army of dedicated fans. To put it into better context, think of it like a Nexus smartphone commissioned by a chipmaker, rather than a software maker.

Like Google when it launched the Nexus range of hardware in 2011, Qualcomm is not a device manufacturer, hence it has worked with Asus to make the Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders. To be clear, this isn’t a Qualcomm phone, it’s an Asus phone, and it will sell the phone through its own online store. Although it’s made to appeal to the 1.6 million-strong team of Snapdragon Insiders, anyone with $1,499 to spare can buy one.
What makes the phone special?
Yes, the Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders (from here on, I’ll refer to the phone as the SSI) costs $1,499, so what do you get? After all, this is more expensive than the most powerful phones available today, such as the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, and Asus’ top ROG Phone 5, so it better be good. From Qualcomm’s perspective, the SSI is a showcase for the Snapdragon 888 processor, paired here with 5G and a massive 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space.

Read more