Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 vs Snapdragon 860

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Several phones are tipped to feature two new Qualcomm 800 series chipsets. Two of them should be launching very soon.

Qualcomm is effectively reusing old tech to allow companies to launch high-performance phones at a low price. It may seem like a strange decision, effectively diluting their flagship 800 series brand with old tech, but it is likely Qualcomm are doing this due to the increased competition they will face from MediaTek this year.

MediaTek have the Dimensity 1200 and Dimensity 1100 which should be used on phones launching in the UK soon.

So how do these two chipsets compare with each other, and what similarities do they have with their older siblings?

Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+/860 Mobile Platform

Snapdragon 855860

Looking at the Snapdragon 860 first, Qualcomm has put no effort in and are just re-releasing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ under a new name. Even the product page states Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+/860 Mobile Platform.

So clearly, this is just a marketing gimmick. Last year, Realme launched the Realme X3 SuperZoom using the SD855+ and I thought it was a great idea to reuse older flagships for new affordable offerings.

Obviously, Qualcomm feels like advertising a new phone with a 2-year-old chipset is not as marketable as rebranding it as something new.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 vs Snapdragon 865+

This chipset is a little different from the Snapdragon 865+ it is based off.

Basically, there are two changes; they have tweaked the frequencies of the cores offering a 3.2% bump in performance on the main performance core going from 3.1 to 3.2 GHz and then a 0.8% decrease on the middle three cores. It is such a small difference. I am not sure how noticeable it could be.

Then they have swapped out the FastConnect 6900 System, which offers WiFi 6E and 160Mhz channel utilisation, with the FastConnect 6800 system, which offers standard WiFi 6 and is limited to 80Mhz. It is unlikely many people will ever notice the difference.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 vs Snapdragon 860/855+ vs Snapdragon 888 vs Snapdragon SD865+ Specification

Snapdragon 855+/860Snapdragon 865+Snapdragon 870Snapdragon 888
CPU Cores1 x2.96GHz Cortex A761 x 3.1GHz Cortex A771 x 3.2GHz Cortex A771 x 2.84GHz Cortex X1
3 x 2.42GHz Cortex A763 x 2.42GHz Cortex A773 x 2.40GHz Cortex A773 x 2.42GHz Cortex A78
4 x 1.80GHz Cortex A554 x 1.80GHz Cortex A554 x 1.80GHz Cortex A554 x 1.80GHz Cortex A55
GPUAdreno 640 @ 672MHzAdreno 650Adreno 650Adreno 660
25% faster than Adreno 650
AI EngineHexagon 690Hexagon 698Hexagon 698Hexagon 780
15 TOPS15 TOPS26 TOPS
5G ModemSnapdragon X50 (External)Snapdragon X55 (External)Snapdragon X55 (External)Snapdragon X60 (Integrated)
5G NR Sub-6 + mmWave5G NR Sub-6 + mmWave5G NR Sub-6 + mmWave5G NR Sub-6 + mmWave
Up to 7.5Gbps downUp to 7.5Gbps downUp to 7.5Gbps downUp to 7.5Gbps down
Up to 3Gbps uplinkUp to 3Gbps uplinkUp to 3Gbps uplinkUp to 3Gbps uplink
Dynamic Spectrum SharingDynamic Spectrum SharingDynamic Spectrum SharingDynamic Spectrum Sharing
ConnectivityFastConnect 6800 (probbaly)FastConnect 6900FastConnect 6800FastConnect 6900
Wi-Fi 6Wi-Fi 6EWi-Fi 6Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth 5.2Bluetooth 5.2Bluetooth 5.2Bluetooth 5.2
DisplayQHD+ at 144HzQHD+ at 144HzQHD+ at 144HzQHD+ at 144Hz
4K at 60Hz4K at 60Hz4K at 60Hz4K at 60Hz
HDR10+, 10-bit colorHDR10+, 10-bit colorHDR10+, 10-bit colorHDR10+, 10-bit color
MemoryLPDDR4X up to 2133 MHzLPDDR5 up to 2750MHzLPDDR5 up to 2750MHzLPDDR5 up to 3200MHz
LPDDR4X up to 2133MHzLPDDR4X up to 2133MHzUp to 16GB RAM
Up to 16GB RAMUp to 16GB RAMUp to 16GB RAM
ISPDual 14-bit Spectra 380Dual 14-bit Spectra 480Dual 14-bit Spectra 48014-bit Spectra 580
4K video @ 60fps4K video at 120fps4K video at 120fps4K video at 120fps
8K at 30fps8K at 30fps8K at 30fps
Node7nm7nm7nm5nm

Overall

How good these chipsets are, really depends on pricing. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 has the potential to offer superb performance for your money, the SD865+ is a fantastic chipset and easier on the battery than the new flagship Snapdragon 888.

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