Qualcomm launches Snapdragon 870 5G chipset; Coming in Moto, IQoo and Xiaomi phones

Chipmaker Qualcomm has just launched its new Snapdragon processor for premium smartphones called the Snapdragon 870 5G. This 7nm chipset is said to be an upgrade over the Snapdragon 865+ that came back in July last year. It is worth mentioning that the Snapdragon 865+ was indeed a minor update over the Snapdragon 865 that was launched earlier in 2020. 

The new processor includes Qualcomm Kyro 585 CPU prime core with a clock speed of 3.2Ghz, up from Snapdragon 865+’s 3.1Ghz. Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon 870 5G will deliver improved gameplay with Snapdragon Elite gaming experiences. In addition, you get Adreno 650 GPU but it is not clear if it has received a clock boost or not.

Also read: Qualcomm’s new ultrasonic fingerprint reader offers 50% faster speed

Snapdragon 870 can support 1440p class panels at up to 144Hz (or 4K at 60 Hz) along with HDR10+. There is also Spectra 480 ISP, which is the same as seen in Snapdragon 865+. It supports sensors up to 200 MP, 8K video capture at 30 fps (and 4K at 120 fps) along with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

It will also have global 5G-sub 6Ghz and mmWave support with Snapdragon X55 modem. The new Snapdragon 870 will be coming up in flagship devices from Motorola, Iqoo, Oppo and Xiaomi. You can expect these devices to be announced in the first quarter of this year.

For now, Qualcomm’s latest is the Snapdragon 888, a chipset made using 5nm process. Battling it is Samsung’s Exynos 2100, Kirin 9000 and Apple’s A14 Bionic. Out of these, Apple is the only one that has managed to bring 5nm M1 chipset to laptops.