Any links to online stores should be assumed to be affiliates. The company or PR agency provides all or most review samples. They have no control over my content, and I provide my honest opinion.
Several phones are tipped to feature two new Qualcomm 800 series chipsets. Two of them should be launching very soon.
Qualcomm is effectively reusing old tech to allow companies to launch high-performance phones at a low price. It may seem like a strange decision, effectively diluting their flagship 800 series brand with old tech, but it is likely Qualcomm are doing this due to the increased competition they will face from MediaTek this year.
MediaTek have the Dimensity 1200 and Dimensity 1100 which should be used on phones launching in the UK soon.
So how do these two chipsets compare with each other, and what similarities do they have with their older siblings?
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+/860 Mobile Platform
Looking at the Snapdragon 860 first, Qualcomm has put no effort in and are just re-releasing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ under a new name. Even the product page states Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+/860 Mobile Platform.
So clearly, this is just a marketing gimmick. Last year, Realme launched the Realme X3 SuperZoom using the SD855+ and I thought it was a great idea to reuse older flagships for new affordable offerings.
Obviously, Qualcomm feels like advertising a new phone with a 2-year-old chipset is not as marketable as rebranding it as something new.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 vs Snapdragon 865+
This chipset is a little different from the Snapdragon 865+ it is based off.
Basically, there are two changes; they have tweaked the frequencies of the cores offering a 3.2% bump in performance on the main performance core going from 3.1 to 3.2 GHz and then a 0.8% decrease on the middle three cores. It is such a small difference. I am not sure how noticeable it could be.
Then they have swapped out the FastConnect 6900 System, which offers WiFi 6E and 160Mhz channel utilisation, with the FastConnect 6800 system, which offers standard WiFi 6 and is limited to 80Mhz. It is unlikely many people will ever notice the difference.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 vs Snapdragon 860/855+ vs Snapdragon 888 vs Snapdragon SD865+ Specification
[table id=339 /]
Overall
How good these chipsets are, really depends on pricing. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 has the potential to offer superb performance for your money, the SD865+ is a fantastic chipset and easier on the battery than the new flagship Snapdragon 888.
