Qualcomm Unveils 5G-Based Snapdragon 888 Mobile Platform

Qualcomm executives spotlighted speed in launching the company’s Snapdragon 888 5G chipset at its virtual Snapdragon Tech Summit Tuesday. The 888's third-generation X60 5G modem-RF system offers global compatibility via millimeter-wave and sub-6 GHz across all major bands, it said. During the keynote, Qualcomm demonstrated radio-controlled race cars connected by mmWave to a private 5G network, built with help from Verizon and Ericsson and controlled over 5G using an 888 reference design with the Snapdragon X60 5G modem-RF system. Drivers controlled the cars from over a mile away, viewing live video of the track using the capture capabilities of the platform. Qualcomm builds foundational technologies for smartphones first, then extends them to other growth segments enabled by mobile technology, said Alex Katouzian, general manager-mobile, compute and infrastructure. He referenced always-on, always-connected PCs; extended reality devices; edge/cloud artificial intelligence products; and 5G fixed wireless broadband. The 888 chipset will “triple down” on future computational photography, said Lekha Motiwala, director-product management, describing “gigapixel speed” in the Qualcomm Spectra image signal processor that will capture photos and videos at 2.7 gigapixels per second -- 120 photos at 12-megapixel resolution -- up to 35% faster than the previous generation processor. A new AI engine boasts 26 tera operations per second and a sensing hub with lower-power, always-on AI processing for “intuitive, intelligent” features. The 888's gaming feature delivers an upgrade in graphics processing, Motiwala said. Despite the industry push for affordable 5G smartphones to expand adoption, Lenovo, LG, Meizu, Motorola, OnePlus, Oppo, vivo and Xiaomi have committed to the Snapdragon 888, which reinforces Qualcomm's strategy for supporting “challenger” vendors looking to compete against Samsung, Apple, and Huawei, emailed ABI Research analyst David McQueen Tuesday. Challenger OEMs will be a "welcome shot in the arm for the high-end smartphones sector, which was at risk of being squeezed owing to the frantic pace of plunging 5G smartphone prices," said McQueen. Introduction of Snapdragon 888-based phones could "delay the onset of a fast-approaching mass market," he said. The choice of 888, the "luckiest combination of numbers in Chinese numerology" could signal Qualcomm's "extending an olive branch to those in the industry caught up in the ongoing China-US trade war," said the analyst.