Snapdragon 835 (Photo : Facebook / Qualcomm)
Qualcomm just announced its next flagship processor will be the Snapdragon 835, following the Snapdragon 821 and 820 used in today's Android smartphones. The chipmaker did not give many details about how the new chip works, but it will be built on Samsung's 10 nanometer (nm) manufacturing process compared to the 14nm process for the 821 and 820 chips. Qualcomm's third-generation mobile System on a Chip (SoC) will likely provide faster charging and better performance for mobile devices.
Samsung reported some details for the 10nm process. It can provide 30 percent smaller die sizes, over one-quarter better performance, or 40 percent lower power usage.
The San Diego-based company's newest chip is built on Samsung's 10nm Layout Parameter Extraction (LPE) Fin Field Effect Transistor (FET). No other chip giants including Intel are using the tech yet.
Qualcomm also confirmed the newest version of its Quick Charge tech. In the past it used non-standard signaling and connections in USB cables, which caused Google to oppose Quick Charge Support in an Android compatibility document.
The chip producer claims Quick Charge 4 could provide 5-hour battery life on a 5-minute charge. It is based on in-house testing on a 2750 milliampere hour (mAh) battery that is standard in today's large premium smartphones.
Quick Charge 4 also works with USB Type-C and USB-PB standards. This will help to make quick battery charging safe and keep the battery 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler compared to Quick Charge 3 tech.
The Snapdragon 835 chips are in mass production and should be used in hardware during the first half of 2017, according to Ars Technica. That could include Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017.
Keith Kressin is Qualcomm's senior VP of product management. He shared that the company was excited to keep working with Samsung in developing industry-leading mobile devices.
Qualcomm is the world's third-largest chipmaker following Intel and Samsung.
In related news, Intel announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 15, Tuesday that the American chipmaker will spend $250 million during the next two years to develop self-driving cars, according to The Verge. It is unclear if the chipmaker will just build autonomous vehicle (AV) tech or fully robotic cars.
Here are some top Android phones with Snapdragon 821 chip:
