Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Reportedly Arriving Ahead Of Scheduled Release To Fend Off Competition

It was just a few weeks ago when we heard about the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus. But, a new report claims that Qualcomm is reportedly launching its next-generation SoC called the Snapdragon 865. Additionally, it also claims that the brand new processor will be available starting November 2019.

Apple recently launched the iPhone 2019 line up, which runs on its latest processor, the A13. This SoC is made on TSMC’s second-generation 7nm and comes with roughly 1.5 billion more transistors than the A12. This only means that its next counterpart is the next SoC from Qualcomm, which could be the alleged Snapdragon 865.

Earlier reports suggest that the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 is slated to be released in December 2019. However, a new report claims that it might be released as early as next month. Digital Chat Station on Weibo recently states that Qualcomm will announce the Snapdragon 8665 in November to be able to keep up with Huawei.

The report also suggests that Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo, and Oppo will all show the early prototypes running on Snapdragon 865. The claim neatly aligns with Qualcomm’s strategy in China, considering that it is facing stiff competition from Huawei. But, so far, this is all the information we got for Snapdragon 865.

The Snapdragon 865 chipset will be designed by the San Diego-based chip giant and will be manufactured by Samsung using its proprietary 7nm EUV system. It is worth noting that in process numbering, the smaller the process number, the more transistors fit inside a chipset. More transistors mean more powerful integrated circuit with higher energy efficiency.

The term EUV stands for extreme ultraviolet lithography, which is a technology that marks up the die using more targeted beams of UV light. This means the placements of transistors within the chip are more precise, which enables all of them to fit perfectly inside. With the utilization of extreme ultraviolet lithography, Snapdragon 865 mobile platform is expected to have a performance bump between 20 percent and 30 percent.

When it comes to energy efficiency, the Snapdragon 865 will have between 30 percent and 50 percent improvement compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon 855 SoC. Qualcomm is slated to return to TSMC in 2021, with the latter committed to use its 5nm process to develop Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 mobile platform.