Qualcomm’s new chip, the Snapdragon 888

For a few years now, Qualcomm has dominated the market for processor chips for smartphones, and almost every year it introduces a new, more advanced chip that will support next year’s high-end smartphones.

At the end of last year, it presented the Snapdragon 888 that is going to be this year’s flagship chip for high-end mobiles.

It performs the functions that the previous models did but with an increase in power of the order of 30%, and also the 5G modem is integrated within the chip itself, saving space and consumption that this implies.

Something important that it also has, is that this processor performs Artificial Intelligence functions that allow to significantly improve the images obtained by the mobile cameras, with which the user sees better images on their device.

Another important feature of this chip is that it also supports Wi-Fi 6 (a new Wi-Fi format) that allows higher speed and connect more devices on the same Wi-Fi network.

My reflection on this device is that each time processor manufacturers manage to integrate more power and more functions in the same physical space, which facilitates the physical reduction of devices. And by increasing the power they are making Artificial Intelligence be placed in our hands, instead of being in a computing “cloud”.

For this reason Nvidia and Qualcomm have joined. There is a lot they can gain by being together.

But this is also why other companies like Apple have started to develop their own processors, to stay “independent” in the future.

Developing and manufacturing a processor with the characteristics of the Snapdragon 888 is very expensive and few can afford it. But the profit for the one who is at the head of this business is also very big.

I am sure that the people of Qualcomm are already designing the next processor that will replace the 888 and that will be used by high-end mobiles of the year 2022. This is an endless race in which it is increasingly difficult to enter, because those who keep ahead (as is the case with Qualcomm) have many heads of advantage.

But the future is not assured for anyone.