Qualcomm Announces the Snapdragon 888 Plus

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon

Mobile chipset giant Qualcomm today announced the Snapdragon 888 Plus 5G Compute Platform, an evolutionary step up from its previous flagship chipset.

“Snapdragon is synonymous with premium Android experiences,” Qualcomm senior vice president Christopher Patrick said. “Our latest flagship Snapdragon 888 Plus 5G Mobile Platform will help deliver the premium entertainment, connectivity, and gaming experiences users deserve. We’re excited to see OEMs launch with products based on our highest performing platform.”

This is the second year in a row in which Qualcomm has announced a so-called “Plus” version of its previous flagship mobile chipset, and as with last year, the gains are modest. The Snapdragon 888 Plus runs at a clock speed of 3 GHz, up from 2.84 GHz in the original 888. And the firm says that AI performance is up almost 20 percent.

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The Snapdragon 888 Plus will power new devices starting in the third quarter, Qualcomm says, adding that over 130 designs based on both the original 888 and the 888 Plus are underway. You can learn more about this chipset from the Qualcomm website.

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Conversation 6 comments

  • wright_is

    Premium Member
    28 June, 2021 - 11:22 am

    <p>If the 888 Plus is the chip users deserve, what is the 888? Just a piece of junk that they fobbed us off with? Sometimes the marketing department should really get someone to proof read the claptrap that they spout.</p>

    • locust_infested_orchard_inc.

      28 June, 2021 - 1:33 pm

      <p>Various forums are filled with disgruntled purchasers of 888-embedded phones that have considerable overheating issues, and the just announced 888 Plus SoC shall probably be the antepenultimate Qualcomm flagship SoC built on the decade old ARMv8 architecture.</p><p><br></p><p>The ARMv8 successor, ARMv9, was announced last month (May 2021) featuring the Cortex X2 core, with promises of a 30% performance boost over the current Cortex X1.</p><p><br></p><p>Chips built on the ARMv9 are expected in 2022/2023, so my view is to hold off any new phone purchase until the release of SoCs built on the 64-bit-only ARMv9 architecture.</p>

      • peterc

        Premium Member
        29 June, 2021 - 3:19 am

        <p>Agreed, the snapdragon 888 overheating issue is quite the problem for a few handset manufacturers.</p>

    • matsan

      29 June, 2021 - 5:27 am

      <p>I guess they couldn’t name the initial release "888 beta"…</p>

  • locust_infested_orchard_inc.

    28 June, 2021 - 12:48 pm

    <p>The caption to the Mr Amon’s photo incorrectly states "<em>Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon</em>". He is currently the President and <strong>CEO-elect</strong> of Qualcomm, whose appointment as the new CEO was made soon after 2021’s New Year’s festivities.</p><p><br></p><p>Cristiano Amon shall assume his role as CEO on 30th June 2021, succeeding the current CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, having lead Qualcomm since March 2014.</p><p><br></p><p>Today is the 28th June, so it is understandable that some may view my comment as fastidious and pedantic, but in the disinfodemic World we live in, accuracy has never been more critical and important.</p>

    • geoff

      29 June, 2021 - 6:10 am

      <p>Yes. You are correct ……….</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Fastidious *and* pedantic.</p>

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