Yesterday at the Snapdragon Tech Summit in Maui, Qualcomm unveiled two new 5G mobile platforms – their flagship Snapdragon 865 Mobile chipset and their Snapdragon 765/765G chipset with integrated 5G connectivity.
The 865 is focused on scaling 5G and improving AI for next-gen premium devices. To that effect, when it comes to 5G, thanks to its X55 modem, the 865 can reach download speeds of up to 7.5gbps! That means real-time multi-player gaming over cellular is about to become more commonplace. Now let’s delve into AI and the other improvements that the 865 brings with it.
AI
When it comes to AI, the 865 brings Qualcomm’s 5th generation AI engine to the table. It’s capable of delivering 15 tops of performance – that equates to 2X the AI performance of the 855.
Performance and power efficiency
The 865 offers a significant performance boost over the 855. Specifically, the Hexagon 698 processor inside of the 865 is 35% more power-efficient. The Adreno 650 GPU is similarly 35% more power efficient and it offers 20% faster graphics rendering, while the Kyro 585 CPU offers a 25% performance uplift. For gamers this is especially great news since the 865 allows for sustained performance for both the CPU and GPU, so playing an intense mobile game for over 30 minutes is possible without performance hiccups.
Camera
When it comes to imaging, the Spectra 480 CV-ISP inside of the 865 is capable of capturing up to 2 gigapixels per second! Overall, it offers 40% faster pixel processing than its predecessor. The 865 is also able to capture 8K video @30FPS, as well as 4K HDR video at up to 120FPS. It’s also the first camera in the world to be able to capture Dolby Vision in real-time. In addition, it supports up to 200MP! Because 108MP cameras are so 2019?
But perhaps even more impressive is the fact that with the new Snapdragon 865, smartphones will be able to capture 64MP images while simultaneously capturing 4K video! Last but not least, the 865 supports slow-mo video capture at 960fps with no time cap. Previously you could only capture video at 960fps for a few seconds.
Video gaming
The 865 also brings with it LPDDR5 and a system cache of 3MB. But beyond the technical specs, the 865 is all about bringing desktop video gaming features to mobile. That includes support for desktop quality Planar reflections, desktop motion blur, and support for 144Hz display devices.
Snapdragon 765/765G
The new Snapdragon 765/765G is 20% faster than its predecessor and it brings with it 5G. The 5G is brought to the table via an integrated Snapdragon X52 5G modem that offers top download speeds of 3.7gbps. It also supports mmWave and sub-6. Ultimately, if you purchase a phone powered by a Snapdragon 765, you’ll be giving up the peak speeds that you get with a Snapdragon 865, but for the majority of users, that will never be a deal-breaker. The 765 also supports practically all of the global bands.
When it comes to AI, the 765/765g are also powered by Qualcomm’s 5th gen AI Qualcomm engine which offers a 20% performance increase and is 20% more efficient. They also offer 4K HDR video capture.
So what’s the difference between the 765 and the 765G? The 765G is focused on gaming and bringing over some Elite gaming features from the 855. That includes the likes of 10-bit HDR gaming, high-speed gaming, and support for 120Hz FHD+ displays. the 765G also offers a 20% performance increase over the 765 when it comes to graphics.
Ultimately, the 765/765G Snapdragon mobile chipsets are really good news for consumers. Thanks to these chipsets, you won’t have to spend flagship prices in order to get a powerful 5G phone with gaming chops.
Update December 8th, 2019: We’ve updated the story with benchmark screenshots. The benchmarks were taken using a Qualcomm reference device powered by a Snapdragon 865.
