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Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Benchmarks: Pros And Cons

Qualcomm's latest flagship processor is here!

Every time Qualcomm comes up with a new chipset, it allows the tech media to benchmark it. This allows them to have a baseline. Using this, they would be able to compare them to devices releasing, later on, featuring this processor. Qualcomm’s current flagship processor, the Snapdragon 855, was released last December. The company released it as the first 7nm chipset for mobile devices. The successor chipset, the Snapdragon 865, is expected to be launched by the end of this year. News about the tests related to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 is already going around. A device code-named ‘Qualcomm Kona’ was seen. The device was seen using the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform.

Looking back, we remember that the Snapdragon 855 was codenamed ‘msmnile’. What is surprising to note here is the fact that the Qualcomm Kona device also runs on the msmnile processor. However, its benchmarking scores are quite better than Snapdragon 855 processor. The 855 processor got 3.5k in the single-core test and in the multi-core test, it received a scored of about 11k. Regardless of how good a chipset might be, it is bound to come with pros and cons. Let’s take a look at the advantages of this processor.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Benchmark
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Benchmark

Advantages of Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Benchmark

The Snapdragon 865 is produced on TSMC’s 7nm N7P process. This is also the same process used to manufacture Apple’s A13 Bionic chipsets. The Snapdragon 865 uses 10-bit HDR and 90FPS gaming and new display. In the Google Play Store, users will receive regular GPU driver updates. According to Qualcomm, the CPU and GPU on the upcoming chipset are 25% faster. The processor is expected to be 25% higher with regards to power efficiency as well.

Qualcomm has retained the CPU architecture from the Snapdragon 855. We know that a 2.84GHz prime core running on the Kryo 585 along with three Cortex-A55 efficiency cores clocked at 1.8GHz and three Cortex-A77 mid-cores clocked at 2.4GHz. The primary core is designed to handle more heavy-duty tasks like 4K videos, heavy games, etc. while photo editing and a similar thing will be processed by the mid-cores. Most other tasks will be handled by the efficiency cores. Besides the GPU and CPU, the processor has a new ISP that comes with the ability to crunch 2 gigapixels per second and enable 8K video recording. It also has a new AI Engine that is faster and efficient than ever before. It is designed to finish tasks like in-call live translation.

With regards to its performance as well, the processor does not let you down. It performs 15 per cent faster on CPU benchmarks and around 9 per cent faster on GPU tests. As of now, it does not have the optimizations required to run phones like OnePlus 7T Pro. We will have a better knowledge of how it actually performs once the phone starts powering commercial devices. The Snapdragon 865 will be joined with the Snapdragon X55 5G modem so most Android phones getting release the upcoming year will have 5G support.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855

Any Poor Qualities?

While benchmarks offer an important purpose, not many want to completely rely on it. While rating processors with numbers is a great way of filtering and sorting them, the problem arises when there are plenty of benchmarking tools, each one stressing a different aspect. Initially, everything revolved around single-core and multi-core CPUs. Later, GPUs became more important. The trouble here is that there are plenty of factors that are not tested by most benchmarking tools, such as multimedia, wake-word responsiveness, and more. For the most part, users like to have a solid idea about the chipset’s speed ranks. Another issue is that some benchmarking tools don’t use the latest models for AI.

Talking about the Snapdragon 865 in particular, we see that the Performance Mode will not make any core perform faster. It will just make sure that the task is finished efficiently. Since it is very rare to find two devices having the same Snapdragon 865 tuning, it is up to the developers to determine how they want to balance the performance with battery usage. Naturally, the more the Qualcomm’s processor strives towards maximizing performance, the more power it sucks up from the battery.

Features 

The Snapdragon 865 is expected to the choice for many 2020 Android flagship phones. Samsung, Google, OnePlus, and many other manufacturers are already eyeing it. The fact that Qualcomm has decided to make 5G an integral part of the chipset is a great move since this makes it the first choice of device manufacturers. While we don’t know a great deal about how it will work with commercial devices, we will soon know a lot more from OEMs and from third-party apps. You can be sure that the chipset is powerful enough to handle AI-powered features and experiences.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865

Of course, the Snapdragon 865 is faster than the 855 regardless of the benchmarks being CPU or GPU constrained. Qualcomm depended on unmodified ARM Cortex-A77 design for the performance cores instead of simply making changes in the last year’s cores. While Qualcomm still needs to up its game to be able to compete with Apple’s latest production, it has been steadily improving its design. If this keeps up, they should soon meet those standards. However, as of now, Qualcomm lags behind Apple’s 2017 A11 processor in certain aspects. But with the latest release, other aspects are much better now.

Verdict

Overall, the Snapdragon 865 performs far better than last year’s Snapdragon 855. While devices having less RAM and running on 865 processes might not perform up to the mark, they still perform better than 855-powered models. While Apple has always managed to stay one step ahead of the game, it looks like Qualcomm is doing great trying to bridge the gap. With 5G support and AI capability, Qualcomm could possibly find it easier to compete in the market. Another major benefit of 865 is its improved memory latency. It ensures that the loading times are low and the overall functioning of the device is smooth.

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Shilpa

With an experience of over 7 years in writing and translations, I combine my love of technology with writing. I love checking out new apps and smart electronics on the market, trying them out, and of course, writing about them!

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