Qualcomm’s next-gen chipset will power some great flagships

Oct 8, 2015 07:43 GMT  ·  By

The Snapdragon 810 might be Qualcomm’s biggest flop to date, but the US chip giant is looking to make a comeback later this year with the next-gen Snapdragon 820, which should be making its way into devices soon enough.

The Snapdragon 820 will be intrinsically different from its predecessor, because it’s supposed to take advantage of Qualcomm’s own custom cores Kyro instead of the ARM ones utilized for the Snapdragon 810. Hopefully, this means no overheating issues on the new chipset.

Even if there are still a few months until Snapdragon 820-powered devices are due to make an appearance on the market, we’ve been seeing rumors indicating that a lot of device makers are planning to use the chipset for their upcoming flagships, most notably Samsung.

We're pretty excited about the Snapdragon 820, so below we’re providing you with a list of the hottest smartphones poised to arrive with a Snapdragon 820 in the upcoming months that you should be watching out for.

Xiaomi Mi5

The Xiaomi Mi5 is expected to be the first Snapdragon 820-touting smartphone to be announced as soon as this December. The handset should arrive with a 5.2-inch display with 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution (maybe a QHD display will be offered at launch), 4GB of RAM, and either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage.

The phone is also set to include a 16MP main camera plus a worthy 8MP selfie shooter for video chats. A fingerprint sensor and USB Type-C port will also be found on board.

Samsung Galaxy S7

Next year, Samsung is apparently going to offer three versions of its Galaxy S7 flagship. One of them will take advantage of the Exynos 7422 and will go on sale in India, while an Exynos M1-based version will be offered in Europe, Korea and Japan. Last but not least, there will be a Snapdragon 820-powered model which will go on sale in China and the US.

Apart from that, the Galaxy S7’s specs haven’t leaked in full yet. We do know that Samsung plans to employ a magnesium alloy case and there’s going to be two versions just like in 2015, one with a normal display and the other with a dual edge curvature.

It remains to be seen if the South Korean company ends up implementing a 4K panel like Sony did on its Xperia Z5 Premium, or it will continue to stick with a 2K one.

Sony Xperia Z5 Ultra

Another spin-off from the Xperia Z5 family, the Xperia Z5 Ultra, seems to combine the best of the best. According to rumors, the phone should make it out with a 6.44-inch display with 2,160 x 3,840 pixel resolution (or 4K) plus 4GB of RAM

Sony is also said to be employing a 23MP primary camera and a 4,000 mAh battery to keep the phone running. The device maker is expected to announce the phone after the Mobile World Congress 2016, that is supposed to take place between February 22 and 25, 2016.

HTC One M10 or HTC O2

Another flagship supposedly headed to the market in the early months of 2016, the HTC O2, will apparently make a debut with a huge 6-inch touchscreen that supports QHD resolution (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) and 491 ppi.

The smartphone will boast 4GB of RAM, a 20.7MP camera on the back with f/1.9 aperture, plus a 5MP selfie shooter. Last but not least, the model will be powered by a 3,500 mAh battery. It will also feature 2.5D screen glass.

Earlier rumors said that the handset would ship out with Android 5.1 Lollipop, but given that Android 6.0 Marshmallow is out and about, the HTC O2 will surely launch with the newer OS on board.

LeTV Le Max 2

Now, the LeTV Le Max 2 is an atypical model in this list. While most of the handsets we’ve talked about so far are expected to make a debut with 4GB of RAM, the rumor mill says this device will feature a massive 6GB of RAM.

It might be just wishful thinking, so take the info with a grain of salt for now. Other than that, the Max 2 should come with a 5.7-inch QHD display and a 23MP main camera with Sony IMX300 sensor, 0.1 second autofocus speed plus 4K video recording at 24fps and f/2.0 aperture.

LG G5

LG has just launched the interesting V10 flagship, but that doesn’t mean we can’t think of next year’s G5 already.

Some details about the device (not many) have already appeared online, and apart from the silicon that is going to power the device, we can also tell you that the phone is bound to feature a 20MP camera with a custom 1/2-inch Sony sensor.

Symetium, the smartphone that wants to be your PC

Symetium is currently a Kickstarter project, but if it gets enough backers, the product might end up being a real one. What makes Symetium special is that it can allow users to use the phone as a PC by allowing it to connect to various screens simultaneously.

As for specs, the Symetium features a 5-inch OLED display with 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) and Gorilla Glass 4 protection. There’s also 6GB of RAM, like in the case of the LeTV Le Max 2, plus a customized version of Android Marshmallow coming pre-installed.

The phone will be offered with 64GB / 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. In the photography department, we’re told that Symetium takes advantage of a 24MP main camera plus a 5MP selfie shooter. All is sustained by a 4,000 mAh battery.