Qualcomm gives more details about Snapdragon 821-soc

Qualcomm has released more details about the Snapdragon 821 soc. For example, it has been announced that the Adreno 530 GPU will have a five percent higher clock speed. Furthermore, the new soc offers support for the Snapdragon VR SDK, which is compatible with Google’s Daydream platform.

When the Snapdragon 821 soc was introduced in July, Qualcomm only announced the speed of the two fastest cores of the four-core soc. They can run at a maximum of 2.4GHz, while that is a maximum of 2.15GHz with the Snapdragon 820. The two frugal cores of the soc are also clocked higher. According to AnandTech, the speed increases from 1.59GHz in the SD820 to 2.19GHz in the SD821.

Qualcomm further states that the Snapdragon 821 will support the Snapdragon VR SDK. This VR development platform is compatible with Google’s Daydream, according to the chipmaker. In addition, the new soc would also support dual phase detection focus. It is unclear exactly what that technique entails. Many smartphones use PDAF, but according to Qualcomm, the ‘dual PDAF’ technology is significantly faster. Furthermore, the isp supports longer distances for laser autofocus.

Qualcomm claims that devices with the Snapdragon 821-soc can boot up to ten percent faster than counterparts with the 820-soc. When launching apps, a similar speed gain would be visible. In addition, the chip would work five percent more efficiently, but Qualcomm does not mention concrete figures about consumption.

The Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe is the first announced smartphone to be equipped with the SD821. It is likely that upcoming top models from manufacturers that use Qualcomm-socs will also be equipped with the new Snapdragon.

Specifications according to AnandTech