After what’s been a fairly mild reception to their Snapdragon 810 System-on-Chip (SoC), Qualcomm are working hard on getting their Snapdragon 820 processor ready for market and have released more details on what we have in-store. We’ve seen already that the SoC will include a massive array of camera processing and a great GPU, but today Qualcomm has spoken about the new X12 LTE Modem integration and what that will bring to the table.
The low-down is that the Snapdragon 820 will include one of the first examples of a Cat 12 LTE mode, at least for downloads, for uploads the X12 will support Cat 13 which offers up to 600mbps on the download and 150mbps on the upload. There’s also 4×4 MIMO support on the LTE side of things. There’s improved Wi-Fi support including for 802.11ad and 2×2 MU-MIMO (Multi-user Multiple Input Multiple Output) and support for aggregation of LTE+Wifi.
The full list of inclusions for the X12 :
- LTE Advanced speeds
- Cat 12 (up to 600 Mbps) in the downlink
- Cat 13 (up to 150 Mbps) in the uplink
- Up to 4×4 MIMO on one downlink LTE carrier
- Breakthrough connectivity support in unlicensed spectrum:
- 2×2 MU-MIMO (802.11ac)
- Multi-gigabit 802.11ad
- LTE-U and LTE+Wi-Fi Link Aggregation (LWA)
- Comprehensive service across connection types
- Next Gen HD Voice and Video calling over LTE and Wi-Fi
- Call Continuity across Wi-Fi, LTE, 3G, and 2G
- RF front end innovations
- Advanced Closed Loop Antenna Tuner
- Qualcomm RF360™ front end solution with CA
- Wi-Fi/LTE antenna sharing
The Snapdragon 820 is shaping up to be a fast processor with excellent graphics and camera processing chops and now excellent connectivity options. If Qualcomm has managed to offset any of the heat issues that have so far hit the Snapdragon 810, then we’ll be looking at a very fast processor to power the next generation of devices.
With Sony releasing updates to their flagships every 3 to 4 months, and the issues surrounding the 810, im seriously inclined to delay my purchase of the Z5 Premium for a 820 based one.