No Snapdragon 898? Qualcomm could simplify chip names this year

Qualcomm could change its chip nomenclature with next-year's next gen Snapdragon chips. Here's what it could be called.

Qualcomm could call the rumoured Snapdragon 898 the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, thereby kickstarting a new name series. (Qualcomm)

Snapdragon 888, Snapdragon 870, Snapdragon 678, Snapdragon 480, Snapdragon 778G… confusing names, right? Qualcomm seems to have felt the same lately and hence, if the latest rumours are anything to go by, we could be bidding goodbye to Qualcomm's weird numerical nomenclature system this year. Yes, that means no more Snapdragon 898.

Based on the latest leak from tipster Ice Universe, Qualcomm could call the rumoured Snapdragon 898 the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, thereby kickstarting a new name series. The new nomenclature is said to begin with the 2022 flagship Qualcomm chip and eventually trickle down to the lower-end chips.

Snapdragon 898 could get a new name

Qualcomm has been using confusing names for its mobile chips since a long time, something which rival brands like MediaTek, Unisoc, Samsung and Spreadtrum are all guilty off. Apple and now Google have gone for simpler chip names for their produces, and that could have triggered Qualcomm to simplify the names this year.

Apple calls its chip the A series while Google has stuck to Tensor for now. In a market where Qualcomm is facing tough competition from MediaTek, the new nomenclature could be a way to attract more attention from the consumer base. Note that this is just a rumour and hence, you should not believe anythng blindly unless Qualcomm confirms it

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, or Snapdragon 898 (known so far), is expected to bring in notable performance upgrades over the Snapdragon 888. The rumours say that the chip could mostly end up with a beefy GPU and more powerful Cortex-X1 performance core.

The first of these Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chips are expected to debut in Motorola's upcoming flagships, followed by Xiaomi's flagship Xiaomi 12. Samsung is expected to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Snapdragon 898 in the Galaxy S22 series. An interesting development here is Samsung's preference of offering the Indian variant this year with the Snapdragon chip instead of the Exynos variant.