Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 launched, supports 5G network, in-screen fingerprint sensor

Qualcomm has taken the wraps off of its latest flagship processor, the Snapdragon 855 at its Snapdragon Technology Summit held in Hawaii. A spec bump for the new SD 855 over its predecessor, the SD 845 is also along expected lines though things are a lot more exciting with the latest processor.

And the prime reason for that being its ability to support 5G wireless technology. The 5G feature is expected to be the biggest marketing buzzword in the smartphone segment for 2019 and there no doubt will be a slew of 5G capable flagship phone launches next year powered by the new SD 855.

Qualcomm also promises download speeds regarding ‘multi-gigabit’ over 5G networks, which should give us an idea of how fast things are going to be provided there is enough 5G coverage to make the most of the speed boost.

Fortunately, AT&T and Verizon have already got into the act and are ready to demo real 5G capable phones that can be tested in real life conditions. Not surprisingly, some of those phones will have a SD 855 heart at their core.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nev55ymBJGo

Another highlight of the new chip is that it comes with integrated support for an in-screen fingerprint sensor, something that the chipmaker described as the ‘Qualcomm 3D Sonic Sensor’. Elaborating further, the chip maker said the feature is based on ultrasonic technology with the feature expected to become almost a de facto standard for most flagship phones next year.

There is also going to be a huge jump in AI performance as well. In fact, Qualcomm said SD 855 would be three times more capable in its AI abilities while there also will be a dedicated computer vision processor as well to power intelligent camera apps and features. Apart from that, the other positives with the computer vision processing chip include enhanced support for gaming, augmented reality, mixed reality and so on.

Among the other improvements specific to the new SD 855 chipset include its incorporation of the 7nm manufacturing process. That translates to a bump in processing ability while being more efficient with the battery power.