Qualcomm is an American corporation that creates software, semiconductors, intellectual property, and products supporting wireless technology. Recently, the company has launched its new Snapdragon chip for Android phones and has interestingly branded it with a Chinese number that is considered as a sign of luck and prosperity. This is a little strange because if it had followed its normal naming convention, the name of this chip should have the number 875 instead of 888.
Experts believe that this can be an attempt at ‘peace offering’ amidst the ongoing US-China tech war. Whether this speculation is right or not, that cannot be said for surety. However, the lucky number may have a great influence on this new chip anyway, as Qualcomm claims it to make Android smartphones super-fast, with better performing Artificial Intelligence tasks and some added advantages in the camera and photo resolution.
Devices that will be using this chip are expected to be in the markets by March 2021.
Qualcomm’s peace attempts are not new and not unlikely anyway. Because of the ongoing tensions between America and China, America put a lot of restrictions on Huawei. This resulted in Huawei getting blocked from producing its Kirin chips for smartphones. Qualcomm came to its aid and recently was granted permission to sell its 4G chips to the banned company so they can use it as an alternative solution until their production of Kirin chips resumes. However, Qualcomm is only permitted to sell its 4G based chips, not the currently released chips which are based on 5G.
Qualcomm recently launched its 888 Snapdragon 5G chip and most of the Chinese vendors including Xiaomi, Oppo, One Plus, Meizu, Nubia, Vivo, and ZTE showed a positive response and expressed their support for the American company and its new chip. This is something promising, added to the hopes that Joe Biden’s administration may end up reducing this ongoing war between the world’s biggest economies and superpowers.
However, Qualcomm’s chip 888 may see a disappointing fate if Joe Biden’s administration remains unsuccessful in making things better between the two countries. If the Chinese continue to think of America as their worst rivals, then there are high chances that all the Chinese vendors who have shown their support so far for the new chip may end up switching to South Korea’s Samsung and Exynos processors or Taiwan’s MediaTek and Dimensity chips for their devices.
Better Photo Quality Promised
Qualcomm has revealed that the new chip is far better than the previous ones. It uses a 5-nanometer process with extremely small transistors that are all packed more closely and densely. This will improve the overall device’s performance.
The same technology has been used by Apple recently for its iPhones which are powered by chips made by Taiwan’s TSMC. However, Qualcomm employed Samsung’s help to build their latest 888 chip.
In their press release, Qualcomm said that this chip will produce such amazing quality of pictures that an ordinary Android smartphone will convert into a professional camera. The chip will be able to click photos at a 35% faster rate than the previous chips. It will take 120 photos with around 12 megapixels resolution.
Snapdragon 888 will have an integrated 5G modem built within the chip
So, instead of allotting a separate compartment to integrate the 5G modem, the chip will now have some added space because of this advantage.
Also, Qualcomm has completely revamped its AI engine too, and this will make the devices ‘smarter’ and more efficient. All these improvements can lead the software developers to make some improvements too for the devices, like live-motion tracking, auto-focus in videography and photography, AR filters for apps, and automatic audio adjustment according to the surrounding environment.
All of this sounds wonderful. We may soon start seeing our Android phones working like iOS devices!
I’m Ava Paul, an experienced news website author with a special focus on the entertainment section. Over the past five years, I have worked in various positions of media and communication at World Stock Market. My experience has given me extensive knowledge in writing, editing, researching and reporting on stories related to the entertainment industry.
