Just like last year, Qualcomm has announced a refreshed version of its flagship Snapdragon 865 processor. Dubbed Snapdragon 865 Plus, the new chipset offers minor improvements over the Snapdragon 865.
With Snapdragon 865 Plus, Qualcomm is finally breaking the shackles of its processors being clocked under 3.0GHz. The Prime Kryo 585 Core now clocks up to 3.1GHz, offering a 10% increase in CPU performance. The Adreno 650 GPU offers 10% faster graphics rendering compared to 865, while the other cores are the same. Qualcomm hasn’t disclosed the actual clock speed of the GPU though.
Other Improvements
The 865 Plus also comes with Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 compatibility, adding the ability to connect to 6GHz WiFi (WiFi6E), and 4-stream Dual Band Simultaneous (DBS). This results in speeds up to 3.6Gbps on WiFi, fastest of any mobile Wi-Fi offering in the industry. Qualcomm is sticking with the same X55 modem for 5G connectivity.
Qualcomm is future-proofing the chipset adding features like support for 144Hz refresh rates, 8K video recording, support for 200MP captures, comprehensive 5G support (mmWave and sub-6GHz both), and Quick Charge 4 Plus. Just like 865, companies will have the option to offer GPU driver updates via Google Play Store.
Asus and Lenovo are the first two companies to integrate the new chipset on their devices, with ROG Phone 3 coming later this month. Lenovo will also be making its way into the smartphone gaming industry with the launch of Lenovo Legion, scheduled for later this quarter.
