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Qualcomm has always had a confusing naming scheme for its processors, and today it adds to that confusion with the launch of the Snapdragon 870. It represents something of a new category for a company, in that it is a cut below the company’s latest and greatest, while still being an upgrade from the flagship of the previous year.
The Snapdragon 888 is the current flagship of the company. It was announced in December and will be the processor found in most of the top performing Android phones this year, like the Galaxy S21. It offers 25% faster CPU performance and 35% faster GPU performance than last year’s Snapdragon 865 (and slightly less than the slightly improved 865 Plus). This is the biggest year-over-year improvement in company performance since the 835 in 2017.
Normally, the company has a large number of mid-tier and budget processors to fill the rest of its lineup. Their performance meets a variety of price points, but Qualcomm never quite came up with a processor that could outperform the flagship of the previous year, while still being better than the best dog of the current year. The Pixel 5’s Snapdragon 765G, for example, was Qualcomm’s second tier processor for 2020, but its raw processor performance was closer to 2018’s 845.
The Snapdragon 870 is then in a new category, bringing a 10% increase in CPU and GPU compared to the 865, while still being slower and, probably, cheaper than the 888. Indeed, the processor is based on the 7nm architecture of the 865 rather than the 888. 5nm technology, so it looks like the company was able to squeeze a bit more performance from the older technology. In fact, the only notable differences between the specification sheets for the 865 and 870 are in CPU and GPU clock speeds.
Of course, the chip also supports 5G, although businesses will have to go for a 5G modem separately rather than integrating it into the SoC like on the 888.
We don’t yet know the exact devices that will feature the processor, but Qualcomm has highlighted Motorola, iQOO, OnePlus, Oppo, and Xiaomi as companies that will integrate the chip into future devices.
It is a sensible move by Qualcomm. I’ve found that with each new generation of phones, I care less about the most powerful processor available and more about good enough performance with decent software optimization. The aforementioned Pixel 5, for example, feels about as fast as any flagship with a better processor that I’ve used for all but the most demanding activities. During regular use, I forget that I am using a processor that is a few years behind.
Still, I wouldn’t mind a bit more performance, and I suspect the 870 will occupy a nice, great place for people who want an upgrade from last year’s devices without having to pay all the prices.
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Published January 19, 2021 – 18:08 UTC
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