Qualcomm re-launches the hardware array used by theSnapdragon 865 andSnapdragon 865 Plus under updated switching, with another addition to the maximum possible operating frequency
There is no arguing that the Snapdragon 865 chip was another long-chain victory for a company Qualcomm In the flagship devices category, with a desirable combination of high performance in all aspects and sufficient efficiency that have made it a common choice in advanced models with price tags of $ 500 and up. The success led to the launch of a slightly improved Plus model that also starred in several other prominent smart devices, and although there is now an official replacement at the top of the food chain in the form of the Snapdragon 888 - it seems that Qualcomm Is in no hurry to give up its star from 2020 and plans to continue using it at slightly more affordable price levels well into 2021.
To this end, we now receive the announcement of theSnapdragon 870 - which looks like a twin of theSnapdragon 865 andSnapdragon 865 Plus with a slightly increased operating frequency for the leading processing core inside. This is the same advanced production process of TSMC at 7 nm and the same basic internal building blocks, but with a new name that will accompany certain models in the coming year without making them feel like old news (perhaps as a lesson from the past where models offered with chips Snapdragon 845 or Snapdragon 855 were perceived in a negative light, despite the considerable processing power that the same products have also in modern terms).

The Snapdragon 870 features eight processing cores, like any chip ARM Modern, with a division into three groups - four cores based on cost-effective Cortex-A55 architecture with an operating frequency of up to 1.8GHz, three cores based on advanced Cortex-A77 architecture with 256 kilobytes of dedicated cache memory, each with a frequency of up to 2.42GHz and a core One carrier is based on the same Cortex-A77 architecture with 512 kilobytes of L2 cache, at a maximum frequency of no less than 3.2 GHz which is a new record in the smartphone market. The built-in graphics core continues to be Adreno 650, with an operating frequency of up to 670MHz identical to that of theSnapdragon 865 Plus and is about 14 percent higher than its operating frequency within theSnapdragon 865 standard.

All other technical features of the Snapdragon 870 have remained unchanged compared to what we already saw last year - a four-channel memory controller that supports LPDDR4X and LPDDR5 memories, Hexagon 698 digital processing unit with computational learning performance and artificial intelligence of up to 15TOPS, unit Spectra 480 image processing, support for Quick Charge 5, support for 802.11ax dual-channel Wi-Fi connectivity, and support for second, third, fourth and fifth generation networks via the Snapdragon X55 modem that comes in line chip External and dedicated that accompanies theSnapdragon 870 by default.

On the one hand, one can criticize the decision of Qualcomm Throw a new coat of paint on familiar hardware with the potential to create confusion among consumers, but on the other hand given the significant capacity gap that existed last year between the flagship model and the senior product in the Snapdragon 700 family destined for the top of the mid-range market - another model from the Snapdragon 800 family Helping to bridge the gaps can be a legitimate and smart addition. We can only hope that the manufacturers who will adopt the new-old Snapdragon 870 (OnePlus, Shiomi and Motorola are part of the list of names they mentioned Qualcomm In this context) they will indeed take care to offer it to us in devices with really competitive prices, and not in models with price tags similar and identical to those of devices Snapdragon 888 "real" executives.