Three major smartphone makers refuse to use Qualcomm's most powerful processor
Google, Nokia and LG, the three big companies that make popular smartphones, have refused to integrate the Snapdragon processor, currently considered the most advanced mobile solution by Qualcomm, into their future flagships. Brands were reluctant to pay for a 5G modem bundled with a processor. Because of this, Google decided to dispense with the Snapdragon 865 in the Pixel 5 lineup. Nokia and LG followed closely behind. The companies considered that the price of the processor turned out to be high, and as a result, this will affect the final cost of smartphones with its availability. Manufacturers have pointed out to Qualcomm an unsuccessful pricing strategy for the proprietary processor. The company sells its Snapdragon 865 only if it purchases an X55 modem with it, which opens access to 5G networks. At the same time, this module is absent in the chip itself. Thus, manufacturers buying a processor still have to pay for a modem, even if the chip is used in 4G gadgets in the future. The company unveiled the Snapdragon 865 processor at the end of 2019. It was initially positioned as a flagship solution for flagship smartphones, despite the lack of an integrated 5G modem. The chip is manufactured using 7nm technology. It consists of eight cores, divided into three classes of 2.84, 2.42 and 1.8 GHz. The chip is complemented by an integrated graphics module Adreno 650, operating at a frequency of 587 MHz.
Interestingly, LG, which announced a "boycott" of Qualcomm, has already presented a mobile device based on Snapdragon 865 in the winter of 2020. It turned out to be the flagship smartphone V60 ThinQ, but the manufacturer plans to equip the next model, the G9 ThinQ, with a less efficient Snapdragon 765 chip. in the structure of which there is an integrated 5G modem. The refusal of some manufacturers to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor in their flagships is not only due to the reluctance to pay extra for the 5G module, which in some cases will not even be used. Installing a processor together with a separate X55 leads to the need to rework the hardware, make changes to the motherboard, batteries, cooling, to ensure the flow of energy directly to the chip and modem. This increases the cost of technical work, which also raises the final price of the mobile device. At the same time, the position of the three manufacturers was not supported by other companies that considered it necessary to install a fresh Snapdragon processor in their smartphones. Gadgets equipped with the chip have already been presented by brands such as Samsung, ZTE, Xiaomi, Oppo and Realme and a number of other vendors. Xiaomi was among the first to introduce new items based on the new chip. We are talking about Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro, which the company premiered in February this year. Almost at the same time, the Korean Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 family based on Snapdragon 865. Oppo has a processor in the flagships Find X2 and Realme X50 Pro, ZTE - in the Axon 10s Pro models and the gaming Nubia Red Magic 5G. Xiaomi has also included the chip in the gaming Black Shark 3 and Redmi K30 Pro and K30 Pro Zoom - smartphones are presented by the "daughter" of the Chinese company. The Topic of Article: Three major smartphone makers refuse to use Qualcomm's most powerful processor. |
