(NASDAQ:QCOM) recently shared details on its Snapdragon 820 chip, which includes a snap of new Adreno 530 graphics processing unit, along with Spectra image signal processing unit.
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The Snapdragon 820 is also rumored to be destined for the ASUS PadFone S2. Performance boost of up to 40% should be expected with the new processor compared to Snapdragon 810 that used Adreno 430. But what the company has revealed is mostly about the GPU and ISP. This graphics processor will also support OpenGL ES 3.1 with Android extensions, Vulkan, OpenCL 2.0, and Renderscript. It also features a new framework for autofocus and improved algorithms that should lead to overall improved camera quality. Qualcomm is said to be experimenting with an Adreno 510 as well, which is likely to be shipped with its Snapdragon 618 and 620 CPUs. When the 820 arrives next year (1H 2016) it will sport a new Adreno 530 GPU and 14-bit Spectra image signal processing (ISP) unit that show solid improvements over previous generation products. The move means the chip can now support three cameras on a phone – two on the back and one on the front.
Spectra promises “improved image quality with more natural skin tones”, better power efficiency and higher throughput for faster bursting and support for multiple sensors. The ISP and GPU will simulate zoom steps in between both focal lengths to achieve a smooth transition similar to proper optical zoom.
After posting disappointing Q3 results, the company admitted that there were problems with its Snapdragon 810 chip, which lost it a huge customer in Samsung (though that may have happened either way) and a lot of brownie points with the enthusiast community.
As it’s a virtual certainty that the Nexus will be released in Q4 as usual, ready for the holiday season, this suggests that Huawei may use its own processor, as it generally does for its own-branded devices. Another area of interest could be the automobile industry, where the camera sensing technology could be vital in recognizing objects to fulfill the criteria for self-driving cars. It’s aimed mainly at smartphones, tablets, and virtual reality headsets.
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In other news, Qualcomm recently revealed the successor to the popular octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor, the Snapdragon 616. The company will be rolling out additional details about the Snapdragon 820 in the coming months.
