The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset is the newest and the most powerful chipset from the company and is expected to be powering most of 2019 flagships smartphones. This year’s Snapdragon 855 chipset is now based on TSMC’s 7nm process which helps them develop smaller chips with much lower power consumption, this was a move from the previous year’s 10nm process. The new CPU is based on Snapdragon’s semi-custom ARM Cortex Kryo 485 cores that include a 2.84GHz Cortex A76 core and 3 cores of 2.42GHz of the same architecture, this is paired with 4 cores of the 1.8GHz frequency of Cortex A55 architecture. This new CPU design aims to offer about 45% improvement in performance and is paired with the Adreno 640GPU that by itself offers a 20% boost in the graphics department.
Below are some of the latest smartphones that are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset.
Samsung S10, S10e, S10 Plus, and the S10 5G
The newest Samsung flagships announced at the MWC come in two variants, the US variant of the smartphones are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset while the international variant runs on the Exynos 9820 processor. The new smartphone from Samsung comes with a host of features including the Infinity-O display, Wireless reverse charging, and an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. The Samsung S10 and the S10 Plus come with a triple camera set up on the rear including a 12MP primary sensor, a 12MP telephoto sensor, and a 16Mp ultra-wide lens. The S10 5G variant comes with an additional 3D depth sensing camera for better photo depth detection and other AR applications.
Samsung Galaxy Fold
The Samsung Galaxy S10 wasn’t the only exciting launch at the MWC event hosted by the company, the new Samsung Galaxy Fold was the first commercially unveiled folding smartphone that can transform from a mini 4.6-inch smartphone to a much bigger 7.3-inch tablet by just unfolding. The device comes with a Dynamic AMOLED Flex display and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset. The other specifications include up to 512GB of internal storage and a 4,380mAh battery. This smartphone is expected to go on sale in April 2019 for a price of $1,980.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G variant was a subtle update over the already existing smartphone, the updated variant adds support for 5G and runs on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset. The device still sports the unique slider design and comes with 6GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. The device also has a dual camera setup and arear fingerprint sensor along with a dedicated Google Assistant Key. The most important upgrade in the smartphone is the internal upgrade to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset and the Qualcomm X50 modem that comes with 5G connectivity. The battery size has also been bumped up to 3,800mAh to make up for the higher battery consumption.
LG G8
The LG G8 ThinQ was recently introduced and comes with several first technologies, the device also features a Z camera or a Time of flight(ToF) camera for depth detection. This enables depth detection and Air Motion gestures without having to physically interact with the phone screen. The device also comes with a vein unlocking technology which has never been seen in a smartphone before. The device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset and has 6GB of RAM along with 128GB of internal storage. The LG G* ThinQ retains the Hi-Fi Quad DAC setup and the fingerprint sensor is still on the back. Yet another unique feature of the smartphone is the Crystal Sound OLED which vibrates a part of the display to generate audio eliminating the need for the earpiece.
LG V50 ThinQ
The LG V50 ThinQ was also unveiled in February 2019 and is the first 5G smartphone from the brand. The device comes with a 6.4-inch display with QHD+ resolution and is based on OLED technology. The device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset and has 6GB of RAM along with 128GB of internal storage. The device boasts a triple camera setup on the rear and has a 4,000mAh battery. There is a unique optional accessory for the Dual Screen setup which is LG’s answer to the folding screen craze.
Lenovo Z5 Pro GT
The Lenovo Z5 Pro GT is the successor to the Lenovo Z5 Pro and was officially the first smartphone to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset. The brand started accepting pre-orders in January and the first customers got the delivery in February 2019. The device sports a 6.39-inch display from Samsung and has an in-display fingerprint sensor as well. The front camera setup comprises of a 16MP primary and an 8MP secondary camera. The rear camera has a higher resolution consisting of a 24MP primary sensor and a 16MP secondary sensor. The RAM on the device is either 6GB, 8GB or 12GB based on the variant while the internal storage ranges from 128GB to 512GB.
OnePlus 7 / 7 Pro
The OnePlus 7 series will be the sequel to the OnePlus 6T and the is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset. Unlike the previous variants, the brand has introduced a new Pro variant this year with upgraded specifications and a bumped up price tag. The battery capacity has also been increased over the previous model and the charging technology has received an upgrade in terms of wattage as well, the Warp Charge now delivers 30-watt power. The new OnePlus 7 Pro brings huge changes in the design department offering styles that were never seen before on a OnePlus smartphone, the pop-up camera design helps increase the screen to body ratio without adding a generic notch as was seen in the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T.
Sony Xperia X1
The Sony Xperia X1 is the first smartphone in the world with a 4K resolution HDR OLED panel having an aspect ratio of 21L9, the device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor and has a triple lens camera setup with a 2X optical zoom and a dedicated wide-angle lens. The RAM on the device is 6GB and the device is covered in a sleek metal frame and Gorilla Glass 6 on the front and the back of the device. There is a dedicated Creator mode in the Sony Xperia X1 powered by CineAlta that uses industry-leading technology to make sure that the color reproduction is consistent and true to the creator’s intent.
Xiaomi Mi 9
The Mi 9 from Xiaomi is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset and comes with 6GB of RAM along with 128GB of internal storage. The Mi 9 also comes with industry-first 20W Wireless fast charging technology making it about 37% faster than standard wireless fast chargers. The Mi 9 uses a 6.39-inch Samsung AMOLED panel with a water-drop notch for the 20MP AI selfie camera. The rear camera on the Mi 9 is a triple camera setup consisting of a 48MP primary camera, a 12MP telephoto lens, and a 16MP ultra-wide lens. The display on the Mi 9 is protected by Gorilla Glass 6 while the camera module uses a more sophisticated Saphire Glass for enhanced protection.
Oppo Reno 10x Zoom
The Oppo Reno 10x Zoom is a camera focused smartphone from the brand and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset along with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The display on the Reno 10x Zoom variant measures 6.6-inches and uses AMOLED technology for the most accurate color reproduction. The rear camera is a triple camera setup comprising a 48MP primary sensor with an f/1.7 aperture along with an 8MP and a 13MP sensor. The front camera uses a more modest 16MP sensor for selfies. The front soft-light, rear flash, and the receiver are housed in a rising structure that takes less than a second to gracefully retract itself.
ASUS ZenFone 6
The ZenFone 6 is now official and it comes with the flip-out camera that helps keep the front bezel-less and the important part of the device is its Snapdragon 855 mobile platform, Adreno 640, and variants that would go up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB internal storage.
