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Yesterday, for the first day of the Mobile World Congress, Qualcomm announced their new Snapdragon 888+ chipset.
Much like the launch of the Snapdragon 865+, not much has changed, it looks like the improvements are even more incremental than last year.
5% CPU frequency improvement
The new Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ is effectively just a speed binned version of the predecessor. The single Arm Cortex-X1 CPU gets a 5.5% bump from 2.84GHz to 2.995GHz.
Last year we saw a slightly more impressive improvement of 9.2%, going from 2.84GHz to 3.1Ghz.
No changes with the GPU
What hasn’t been improved this year is the GPU performance, which is an interesting decision. Last year the SD865+ was geared towards gaming phones, so a GPU boost was a decent selling point for consumers.
The minor CPU upgrade and lack of a GPU upgrade could be a sign of the poor power efficiency we have seen with this years SD888. It may be an incredibly powerful chipset, but it has suffered from thermal throttling and a reduction in battery performance compared to previous years. Making something more powerful and creating more heat doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense at this point.
Significant AI improvements
The chipset has had improvements elsewhere, though. Qualcomm hasn’t detailed any specifics, but they have stated that the AI performance has improved by an impressive 20% going from 26 TOPS to 32 TOPS. Of cour, the CPU affects the AI throughput but not enough for such a significant improvement.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Plus vs 888 Specification Compared
| SoC | Snapdragon 888+ | Snapdragon 888 |
| CPU | 1x Cortex-X1 @ 2.995GHz 3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.42GHz 4x Cortex-A55 @ 1.80GHz | 1x Cortex-X1 @ 2.84GHz 3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.42GHz 4x Cortex-A55 @ 1.80GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 660 @ 840MHz | Adreno 660 @ 840MHz |
| DSP / NPU | Hexagon 780 32 TOPS AI (Total CPU+GPU+HVX+Tensor) | Hexagon 780 26 TOPS AI (Total CPU+GPU+HVX+Tensor) |
Phones launching with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+
Numerous brands have come out stating they will launch phones using the new chipset. So far, this includes ASUS, HONOR, Vivo and Xiaomi.
Honor has also confirmed that it will be the Magic3 series that implements the new chipset and it has been 3 years since the launch of the Magic 2 with its sliding screen. Since their separation from Huawei, Honor can now also use Google services. They are yet to announce a new phone in the Western market but I would hope we will see one soon.
I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.
