Snapdragon 865: Qualcomm SOC for 2020 smartphones will have 5G integrated?

Qualcomm releases its fresh SoCs on an annual basis, which is anticipated to become the processing core of most smartphones going on sale in the next 12 months. It was so with the introduction of the Snapdragon 855 model in December 2018, and it will probably be the same with the Snapdragon 865 model from the end of this year.

Starting early next year, the first smartphones based on this new SoC will debut; the Mobile World Congress 2020 edition in Barcelona will be the venue for announcing the first models based on this chip. What are you waiting for? Higher performance from both the CPU side and the integrated GPU, as always happens in these cases. However, most of all, the evolution of data transmission technologies leads us to imagine a SoC that can also internally integrate the 5 G modem.

A dedicated solution is used by all 5 G smartphones currently on the market: the 5 G logic is therefore installed on a distinct chip in relation to the SoC. This is typically what occurs when a fresh technology makes its debut: it requires time to integrate into a SoC before it becomes operational.

A fresh indiscretion, released by the @rquandt twitter account, shows the existence of two separate variants with Kona and Huracan's code names for this SoC. The LPDDR5X memory support is recorded for both, a step forward compared to the Snapdragon 855 SoC-supported LPDDR4X standard and the UFS 3.0 standard.

Two versions of a SoC suggest that Qualcomm might have integrated the 5 G modem into one of the two, which would certainly be very interesting if verified. However, it is difficult to do so: Qualcomm could implement the strategy more reasonably with a 5 G modem outside the SoC, implementing the new Snapdragon X55 solution rather than the current Snapdragon X50 5 G model.

For other elements outside the 5 G modem, such as the memory controller, the two separate variants of SoC may vary. Only one of the two could support LPDDR5X norms, thus providing a net rise in general memory bandwidth: this characteristic has very evident performance-related repercussions for 3D apps.

Following the timing taken in recent years by Qualcomm, it is predictable that Snapdragon 865 will be announced in December during the annual Qualcomm case that took place in that era. We will have to wait a couple of months for volume accessibility with the multiple top-end smartphone companies adopting the latest chip in their next-generation products.