Qualcomm introduces the Snapdragon 865+, the new chipset that will be featured on all top-of-the-line smartphones. Here are the features
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC has brought to the mass market the possibility of making top-of-the-line smartphones capable of connecting to the 5G network. The new Snapdragon 865+, the enhanced version of the 865 just unveiled by Qualcomm, brings with it another top-tier technology: Wi-Fi 6E.
The Snapdragon 865+ differs from the regular 865 mainly in its superior performance, positioning itself as the SoC of choice for high-end game phones: it features a Kyro 585 CPU with 10% higher clock (reaching 3.1 GHz, the first mobile CPU to break through 3 GHz), and an Adreno 650 GPU also with 10% higher clock. Most importantly, it integrates Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 electronics that enable Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 and new advanced audio technologies. With Wi-Fi 6E, then, you'll be able to connect to a home router at speeds of up to 3.6 GBps.
Wi-Fi 6E: how it works
Most of today's home connections are in Wi-Fi 5 standard (802.11ac) and offers two exploitable frequency bands: the first at 2.4 GHz, slow but able to reach far and easily pass through walls, and the second at 5 GHz, much faster but less capable of covering long distances and crossing obstacles.
In late 2019, the final standard for Wi-Fi 6 and its further extension Wi-Fi 6E was defined. While Wi-Fi 6 still uses 5 GHz frequencies, optimizing the data bandwidth with several advanced technologies, Wi-Fi 6E is the first Wi-Fi standard to move to 6 GHz frequencies thanks to which you can transmit up to 3.6 GBps if you don't move too far away from the router.
Wi-Fi 6E: what changes in practice
In practice, at the moment, nothing changes: even if we buy a latest generation smartphone equipped with Snapdragon 865+, we won't be able to use Wi-Fi 6E, unless we have a router compatible with this standard at home. In this second case, however, it changes a lot because thanks to the high data transfer rate it will be possible, for example, to wirelessly stream a 4K movie.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+: when it arrives
The new high-performance SoC from Qualcomm is already on the market and smartphone manufacturers can install it on their devices. Of course, at the beginning the production volumes will be low, but they will grow quickly. The first smartphone with 865+ has already been announced: it is the Asus Rog Phone 3, which will be presented on July 22. It is also possible, however, that Lenovo will manage to beat Asus to the punch by presenting its Legion a few days earlier, also equipped with Snapdragon 865+.