Mobile chip giant Qualcomm has just announced its new high-end processor, the Snapdragon 805. Superseding the current Snapdragon 800, the 805 ups the ante in terms of both graphical and computational capabilities. The new processor includes a quad-core Krait 450 CPU with speeds of up to 2.5GHz and memory bandwidth of up to 25.6 GB/second (compared to 14.9 GB/s on the current Snapdragon 800).
The new Adreno 420 GPU boasts 40 percent more graphical horsepower, according to Qualcomm's press release, enabling 4K displays on devices as well as the ability to drive Ultra HD content on an external display over a wireless connection. Other highlights for the new GPU include hardware tessellation and geometry shaders — features typically found on high-end PC graphics cards — and hardware 4K HEVC (H.265) decoding for more efficient video playback.
Qualcomm also boasts new tricks for gigapixel-per-second throughput for cameras, along with new low-power sensor processing tricks it says will enable "a wide range of sensor-enabled mobile experiences."
The company says its new chips will begin shipping in devices during the first half of 2014, so there's a chance we might see more at CES 2014 in Las Vegas next January.
Press Release
Qualcomm Technologies Announces Next Generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 "Ultra HD" Processor
—Mobile Technology Leader Announces its Highest Performance Processor Designed to Deliver the Highest Quality Mobile Video, Camera and Graphics to Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Tier —
NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., introduced the next generation mobile processor of the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 800 tier, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, which is designed to deliver the highest-quality mobile video, imaging and graphics experiences at Ultra HD (4K) resolution, both on device and via Ultra HD TVs. Featuring the new Adreno 420 GPU, with up to 40 percent more graphics processing power than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 805 processor is the first mobile processor to offer system-level Ultra HD support, 4K video capture and playback and enhanced dual camera Image Signal Processors (ISPs), for superior performance, multitasking, power efficiency and mobile user experiences.
The Snapdragon 805 processor is Qualcomm Technologies' newest and highest performing Snapdragon processor to date, featuring:
Blazing fast apps and web browsing and outstanding performance: Krait 450 quad-core CPU, the first mobile CPU to run at speeds of up to 2.5 GHz per core, plus superior memory bandwidth support of up to 25.6 GB/second that is designed to provide unprecedented multimedia and web browsing performance.
Smooth, sharp user interface and games support Ultra HD resolution: The mobile industry's first end-to-end Ultra HD solution with on-device display concurrent with output to HDTV; features Qualcomm Technologies' new Adreno 420 GPU, which introduces support for hardware tessellation and geometry shaders, for advanced 4K rendering, with even more realistic scenes and objects, visually stunning user interface, graphics and mobile gaming experiences at lower power.
Fast, seamless connected mobile experiences: Custom, efficient integration with either the Qualcomm® Gobi™ MDM9x25 or the Gobi MDM9x35 modem, powering superior seamless connected mobile experiences. The Gobi MDM9x25 chipset announced in February 2013 has seen significant adoption as the first embedded, mobile computing solution to support LTE carrier aggregation and LTE Category 4 with superior peak data rates of up to 150Mbps. Additionally, Qualcomm's most advanced Wi-Fi for mobile, 2-stream dual-band Qualcomm® VIVE™ 802.11ac, enables wireless 4K video streaming and other media-intensive applications. With a low-power PCIe interface to the QCA6174, tablets and high-end smartphones can take advantage of faster mobile Wi-Fi performance (over 600 Mbps), extended operating range and concurrent Bluetooth connections, with minimal impact on battery life.
Ability to stream more video content at higher quality using less power: Support for Hollywood Quality Video (HQV) for video post processing, first to introduce hardware 4K HEVC (H.265) decode for mobile for extremely low-power HD video playback.
Sharper, higher resolution photos in low light and advanced post-processing features: First Gpixel/s throughput camera support in a mobile processor designed for a significant increase in camera speed and imaging quality. Sensor processing with gyro integration enables image stabilization for sharper, crisper photos. Qualcomm Technologies is the first to announce a mobile processor with advanced, low-power, integrated sensor processing, enabled by its custom DSP, designed to deliver a wide range of sensor-enabled mobile experiences.
"Using a smartphone or tablet powered by Snapdragon 805 processor is like having an UltraHD home theater in your pocket, with 4K video, imaging and graphics, all built for mobile," said Murthy Renduchintala, executive vice president, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and co-president, QCT. "We're delivering the mobile industry's first truly end-to-end Ultra HD solution, and coupled with our industry leading Gobi LTE modems and RF transceivers, streaming and watching content at 4K resolution will finally be possible."
The Snapdragon 805 processor is sampling now and expected to be available in commercial devices by the first half of 2014.
