Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 mobile platform explained: what are you getting in your 2021 flagship Android smartphone?

Note: This feature was first published on 3 Dec 2020.

If you've been following our work over the years, you'll know that smartphones are typically powered with an all-in-one processor, touting individual, on-board processing units for core smartphone functionalities. The CPU typically handles computing performance. Graphics performance falls under the remit of the GPU, and smartphone photography falls upon the ISP. In recent times, such chipsets also integrate dedicated units for Artificial Intelligence tasks (either via an AI engine or a neural processing unit), on-board phone security, a digital signal processor for miscellaneous tasks like audio processing and data compression, and of course, on-board memory.

Qualcomm's flagship-tier chipset - the Snapdragon 888 mobile platform - was just launched at the start of December 2020. True to Qualcomm's timing, the new chipset is slated for flagship-tier Android smartphones that will start showing up in 2021, with the Snapdragon 865 fulfilling its role as the processor for 2020 Android flagship phones.

In this piece, we look at the improvements over Snapdragon 865 (where possible). We also check out specific areas of the new SD888 chipset (computing, imaging, graphics), in the context of the tasks most smartphone users would use them for (browsing, photography and videography, and mobile gaming). Before we dive into each part, let's look at what the Snapdragon 888 offers.

Deconstructing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888

On-board the SD888 is a Spectra 580 image signal processor that's 35% faster at photo- and video-taking than its predecessor. The Adreno 660 graphics processing unit is 35% faster at rendering graphics and 20% more power-efficient than the previous generation. The Hexagon 780 processor has 16 times the dedicated memory size compared to previous products, which in turn offers up to three times more performance per watt, and is capable of doing more tasks with minimal handing-off to external memory. That's not forgetting the Kyro 680 CPU, which has a 25% performance increase and is 25% more power-efficient than its previous generation CPU.

Other interesting parts are its second-generation Qualcomm Sensing Hub for identifying and processing different streams of 5G / Wi-Fi / Bluetooth / Location connectivity. To make the extra streams of data, computing power, and graphics power talk to each other, Qualcomm implemented a sixth-generation AI Engine capable of processing up to 26 trillion operations per second (TOPS). For comparison, Snapdragon 865 offered 15 TOPS via its AI Engine.

SD888 also comes with a new feature called Hypervisor. Basically, it allows the chipset to hold two separate operating systems (OS) within. Both operating systems can be identical, with apps residing in specific OSes. It even allows for different OSes to be installed. It's entirely up to the phone maker to implement Hypervisor in a way that works best with their products. They could, for example, push out a phone that has a specific OS for work and personal browsing.

Unlike the Snapdragon 865, there's enough space for Qualcomm to fit its latest 5G modem onto the mobile platform (thanks, 5nm architecture!). By default, the Snapdragon 888 has 5G connectivity on-chip. If you want to learn more about the X60 5G Modem-RF System and what it spells for 5G usage here, be sure to check this piece out as well.

In the next page, we'll look at specific performance areas - imaging in the context of photography and videography and graphics in the context of mobile gaming.

Imaging capabilities with Snapdragon 888

The Qualcomm Spectra 580 Image Signalling Processor (ISP) takes existing smartphone photography capabilities even further than previous generations. Most significant is the use of three ISPs inside Spectra 580, when previous Qualcomm flagship-tier mobile platforms contained two ISPs. Because of the extra processing unit, computational photography leapt forward with the new ISP on SD888 able to simultaneously process three streams of image processing.

An example of existing multi-cameras at work at the same time would be front-and-back selfie capabilities seen on many mid-range and top-end Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Android smartphones. So, three streams of image processing from on the SD888 chipset would allow for insane image processing scenarios, like recording three simultaneous streams at 4K HDR resolution.

The new ISP allows the chipset to process up capture imaging data at 2.7 gigapixels per second. To give you an idea of the ISP's capability, Qualcomm claimed that it could take 12MP burst photos at 120 frames per second. Other ISP enhancements are its 0.1-lux low-light capabilities so that the ISP can squeeze out brighter-looking photos even in near darkness.

In the recording department, the Spectra 580 ISP will offer Staggered HDR support for image sensors. It's HDR, but computational in nature, which means that the processor uses its triple ISP to record different streams of 10-bit HDR video at different levels of exposure. The information is combined into a single recording with a wide dynamic range. This offers 10-bit, 4K HDR recording on top of computational HDR for video and photo capturing. The ability to capture 10-bit HDR photos without mapping down to 8-bit colours also meant support 10-bit HDR HEIF photo capture for the first time via a Qualcomm-backed phone.

If that's not enough, Qualcomm also took photography basics like auto-exposure, auto-brightness, and auto-focus and made it AI's business. After training the SD888's image processing unit and combining the ISP capabilities with the AI Engine on-board, the chipset will be able to deliver better-looking photos by default. Whether that rings true will depend on us experiencing new flagship Android smartphones in 2021, though.

Spectra 580 ISP comes with additional cybersecurity enhancements so that photos taken can easily be verified as legitimate and not doctored. Qualcomm, with Truepic as a partner, created a cryptographic seal that applies to all photos taken using an SD888 phone.

Gaming capabilities with Snapdragon 888

Earlier, we cited Qualcomm's claims on the Adreno 660's graphics performance, which is 35% faster at rendering graphics and 20% more power-efficient than the previous generation. But how does that translate to mobile gaming?

Overall support for mobile games received a massive leap across the board. Depending on the game app, you can get up to 144 frames per second, true 10-bit HDR support, desktop forward rendering, updateable GPU drivers, and 4K resolution support. However, like many other Qualcomm chipset features for the Snapdragon 888 and its predecessors, it falls upon app developers and phone makers to really milk the development-level enhancements. Let's look instead at a few features that Qualcomm implemented, and will have a significant, direct impact on mobile gaming experiences for end-users.

Qualcomm Game QuickTouch is a feature that resolves missed frames and delayed response times, granting more responsive input during games. They've done it by reducing the differences in timing between the game's v-sync, and the phone's frame submission. Qualcomm Game QuickTouch is more prominent on games with lower frames per second - internal testing showed up to 20% faster input response times for 60FPS games and 10% faster response times for 120FPS games. Quite literally, a mobile gamer will not need to do anything beyond buying a phone with Snapdragon 888 to see reduced input delay, since this is built into the processor and made possible with the faster and greater processing power offered.

Another new feature offered by the Adreno 660 is Variable Rate Shading, the ability to reduce the graphics strain without significantly lowering graphics fidelity.

Typically, when frames are rendered, the GPU will execute a program to shade pixel colour on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Variable Rate Shading allows a game developer to make the shader run this process in groups of two or four pixels, and re-use the colour results for surrounding pixels. Obviously, this reduces the GPU workload with fewer calculations, but it doesn't compromise on game graphics.

According to Qualcomm, this feature can offer up to 40% reduction in pixels shaded, and VRS will be most practical in both high-performance game titles, and scenarios where there's a sudden spike of graphic intensity in games.

Which flagship Android phones will carry the Snapdragon 888 chipset?

The better question to ask is: which flagship Android smartphone won't?

There actually aren't that many companies making smartphone processors. Apple's mobile chipsets are solely for use in iPhones and iPad. Huawei uses its own brew - its Kirin processors - for its P series and Mate series phones.

Samsung's flagship devices, like its Galaxy S series, Note series, Z Fold series, Z Flip series, uses both Qualcomm and self-made Exynos chipsets. However, the variant availability is usually up for debate when it comes to its distribution choices.

There are also MediaTek mobile processors, but they are typically more commonly found in entry-level smartphone models. The 2020 examples that come to mind are the Singapore versions of Oppo Reno 3 and 3 Pro.

It helps that Qualcomm had many of its key phone making partners participating at this year's digital summit, which clues us in on possible brands that will carry a flagship-tier smartphone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset sometime in 2021. At a glance, we possibly have ASUS, LG, Meizu, Motorola, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme, Sony, Sharp, Vivo, ZTE, and many others that aren't even active in the Singapore market. Heck, some brands, such as Oppo, are already so eager to let its fans know that it's 2021 flagship phone will certainly pack a Snapdragon 888 within.

So, are you ready for your next Android flagship device?

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