The Snapdragon 865 mobile platform began IP development in Q4 2016, final definition in Q4 2017, and final design in Q4 2018, over a three-year period involving tens of thousands of engineers
The Snapdragon 865 mobile platform consists of two major parts, the SoC processor and the X55 5G baseband, and unlike previously rumored, theThe SoC processor is manufactured on TSMC's 7nm process(Snapdragon 765/Snapdragon 765G is the Samsung 7nm EUV process). The SoC part of the Snapdragon 865 contains a Kryo 585 CPU processor, Adreno 650 GPU graphics core, Spectra 480 CV-ISP computational vision image processor, Hexagon 698 DSP signal processor, Sensing Hub, SPU security processor, memory controller, and many other modules. Among them, the Kryo 585 CPU part has eight cores.It includes a 2.84GHz Prime Core, three 2.4GHz Performance Cores, and four 1.8GHz Efficency Cores.In terms of architecture, the large and performance cores are based on the Cortex-A77 architecture, and the energy efficiency cores are based on the Cortex-A55 architecture. In terms of cache, the exclusive L2 cache for each large, medium and small core is 512KB, 256KB and 128KB respectively, all cores share 4MB of L3 cache (doubled from the previous generation), and there is an additional 3MB of system cache shared by multiple modules such as CPU, GPU, DSP, etc., which can be used for AI enhancement in particular, resulting in a total cache capacity of 8.75MB for the entire system.
Performance.Officially, the Snapdragon 865 boosts CPU performance by up to 25 percent compared to its predecessor, while improving energy efficiency by up to 25 percent.Memory.The Snapdragon 865 supports LPDDR5 memory at up to 2750MHz, and manufacturers can continue to use it with LPDDR4X memory as well.GPU part of the model for Adreno 650, the specific size and frequency in accordance with the usual practice are not announced, just mentioned the relevant technical characteristics. Officially, Adreno 650 is the first Android platform to support desktop forward rendering (Desktop Forward Rendering), which enables game developers to introduce desktop-level light sources and post-processing, such as depth of field, multiple dynamic lighting, multiple dynamic shadows, dynamic blurring, and flat reflections.
The Adreno 650 also supports True 10-bit HDR, Game Color Plus, which improves game image quality with more detail, higher color saturation, and local tone mapping, and hardware features such as HDR Fast Blending, which optimizes complex particle systems and heavily blended game scenes commonly used in rendering to boost performance by up to 2x. In terms of resolution, thanks to the Adreno 650 GPU, the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform supports up to 4K 60Hz resolution screens or QHD+ 144Hz resolution screens. Most excitingly for high-end gamers, the Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform supports standalone GPU driver updates for the first time on a mobile platform, which users can download and install on their own via Google Play to get new features and performance optimizations to continuously improve performance. Performance.Qualcomm claims that the Adreno 650 delivers up to 25 percent better graphics rendering performance than its predecessor, along with up to 30 percent better power efficiency.Moreover, Snapdragon Game Performance Engine supports millisecond-level optimization for gaming and adaptive, predictable real-time system tuning for a longer, continuous and stable high-performance gaming experience.As for the ISP, the Snapdragon 865 has been upgraded to the Spectra 480 CV-ISP, which can process up to 2 billion pixels per second and 4 pixels per clock cycle, enabling the first Dolby Vision video capture feature on a mobile platform. Processing up to 2 billion pixels per second and 4 pixels per clock cycle, 4 times more than the previous generation, for the first time in the mobile platform to realize the Dolby Vision (Dolby Vision) video shooting characteristics. Specifically in terms of parameters, up to 8K/30Hz video, 4K HDR video (1 billion colors), 4K/120Hz video, 4K slow motion video and unlimited 960FPS super slow motion video. On the camera front, the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform supports up to 200 megapixel cameras. In addition, the Spectra 480 adds a new EVA video analytics engine for image tracking and analysis, among other things, and the HEIF image format can now store depth information for changing focus in post. In terms of power consumption ratio, the Spectra 480 is officially said to have 16 percent lower power consumption for video capture, 40 percent more video noise reduction pixel processing, a nine-fold increase in the autofocus area, and an 18 percent improvement in texture capture.The AI aspect of the device was also a key focus of the Qualcomm presentation, theThe Snapdragon 865's AI engine has been upgraded to the fifth generation, with a computing power of 15 trillion operations per second (15 TOPS), which is more than double that of the previous generation Snapdragon 855.It's 5x the size of its old predecessor, the Snapdragon 845, and is claimed to hang with the competition in terms of performance and energy efficiency ratio. The core of the fifth-generation AI engine is the Hexagon 698 DSP, adding a new Tensor tensor gas pedal, supporting 8-bit and 16-bit integers, with more than four times the TOPS of its predecessor, and a 35% increase in energy efficiency, as well as support for deep learning bandwidth compression, with a lossless compression rate of more than 50%, which frees up bandwidth for the rest of the SoC and saves on memory transfers and thus power consumption. The Adreno 650 GPU can also participate in AI computing, supporting 16-bit and 32-bit floating point, and supporting new AI mixed precision instructions, which increases TOPS by more than 2x. It also benefits from a 30% increase in LPDDR5 memory bandwidth, which also helps to enhance AI processing. Additionally the Snapdragon 865 has a new sensor hub built in and remains an always-on device that allows devices to sense their surroundings with very low power consumption, requiring less than 1 mA of current for multi-byte voice wakeups, and less than 1 mW for standby photo wakeups, and Qualcomm also provides a flexible sensor development framework for developers to aggregate various sensing information and call it in conjunction with the new APIs. On the audio side, the Snapdragon 865 also newly introduces aptX Voice, making it the first mobile platform to wirelessly support Bluetooth Super Wideband Voice (SWB), which not only delivers a whole new level of clear sound quality, but also provides lower latency, longer battery life, and greater link stability for wireless headphones and earbuds. Next up is the Snapdragon X55 baseband side, which is part of the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform.
Officials say.The Snapdragon 865 is the most advanced 5G mobile platform to date and the world's first commercially available complete 5G solution from baseband to antenna.It can provide a peak downlink rate of up to 7.5 Gbp, and supports 5G PowerSave energy-saving technology, Smart Transmit intelligent transmission technology, Broadband Envelope Tracking technology, Signal Boost signal enhancement technology, and so on. In terms of standard, it supports millimeter wave, TDD and FDD bands up to 6GHz, NSA non-independent, SA independent networking modes, Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), global 5G roaming, and multiple SIMs. Of course, there is also backward compatibility with 2/3/4G networks, which is what Qualcomm mentioned yesterday5G GlobalThe
The Snapdragon X55 also incorporates the FastConnect 6800 mobile connectivity subsystem, which supports Wi-Fi6 with peak rates of nearly 1.8Gbps, as well as Bluetooth 5.1.In addition, Sina Technology also interviewed Qualcomm's General Manager and Senior Vice President of Qualcomm's mobile business, Katuzan, today, mentioning that Qualcomm's competitor may be Huawei, but Android with Snapdragon 865 Flagship phones, their rivals are actually iPhones. apple A series chips are significantly ahead of the Snapdragon 8 series chips in terms of performance. Although there is an inherent advantage for Apple, but can Qualcomm in the future through technological breakthroughs, in the future to surpass the Apple A series chips?
However, Katuzan does not agree with this question. He explains.Apple's successive processor generations, including the latest A13, have been designed for maximum performance, while Qualcomm's design is for optimal efficacy and sustained performance. There is a clear difference between the two.Katuzan specified that if you look at the performance curve of Qualcomm's chips in terms of an application's sustained use, it is flat, while Apple's A chips have ups and downs.For example, if you run a game on both the A13 and Snapdragon 865 platforms at the same time, whether it's for half an hour or an hour, the Snapdragon 865 maintains a stable and excellent performance, while the A13 will experience some fluctuations in performance after a while. For example, the A13 chip will sacrifice performance due to heat dissipation issues, and then boost performance after the temperature drops, which is not a stable performance.He emphasized that the Snapdragon 865 chip is superior to the A13 chip if you look at sustained CPU and GPU performance. Moreover, in terms of many aspects of the application processor, such as camera and AI performance, Qualcomm is even more clearly superior to Apple. So Android flagships using Snapdragon 865 are superior to iPhone flagships in terms of sustained performance.
However, slightly disappointing is that the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform did not realize the SoC, itself does not have an integrated baseband, you need to match the Snapdragon X55 baseband to use. Therefore, some users commented that Snapdragon 865 external baseband is actually Qualcomm's technical strength is not able to do the integration. In response to this issue, Qualcomm senior vice president and general manager of 4G/5G Durga Malladi (Durga Malladi), senior vice president of product management Keith Kressin (Keith Kressin) and vice president of product management Kedar Kondap (Kedar Kondap) responded in a group interview with Chinese media. According to Sina Technology, Qualcomm responded that the Snapdragon 865 can only be used with the X55 baseband, can not be paired with other basebands, and the development of the clear use of a separate program. Why use the external program?Because the 800 series began to use the external baseband, separated was originally also the previous solution. x55 is already the industry's best baseband, and also got a lot of users to adopt. The use of plug-in solutions allows OEMs to quickly commercialize Snapdragon 865 and X55, and bring their products to market as soon as possible.The integrated baseband chip is mainly to save space, reduce power consumption and save cost. But in Snapdragon 865 and X55 separated program can allow OEMs to save costs, power consumption has no impact; if OEMs need space, can also be realized through the module way.
The Snapdragon 865's plug-in solution is not at any disadvantage, nor is it an obsolete process. Technical performance is what counts, and of course an integrated solution is possible in the future.Qualcomm executives said that if friends questioned the words, you can compare the characteristics, we are the industry leader in each performance. And other friends using integrated programs actually made trade-offs and sacrifices in performance.When asked why Snapdragon 865 didn't use TSMC's latest 5nm technology, Qualcomm executives said that the Snapdragon 865 platform requires massive shipments from TSMC and the most efficient and stable production process technology. Of course, Qualcomm will not always use 7nm technology, and will definitely adopt the latest technology in the future. The Snapdragon 865 platform does not use TSMC's latest EUV lithography technology. Qualcomm executives explained this by saying that EUV UV is a revolution in manufacturing, but in terms of end users, there is not much difference in the finished product they get. Now there is only one manufacturer using TSMC's EUV, but shipments are not large. Qualcomm to a lot of end users to ship a large number of products, the need to stabilize the scale of production. However, it does not rule out the use of EUV lithography in the future. Why does Qualcomm not have its own CPU architecture? Qualcomm executives said that ARM's CPU architecture is doing very well, and if Qualcomm continues to invest heavily in independent research and development in this area, it may not make sense in terms of return on investment; this is the only area in which Qualcomm has not carried out independent innovation. Qualcomm and ARM have been very close cooperation, the use of ARM's architecture, allowing Qualcomm to put more resources to improve other performance.
