Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 to launch next month: Here's what to expect (Updated)

Update: November 20, 2019 (11:22 AM ET): Qualcomm recently announced that it will livestream this year’s Snapdragon Technology Summit keynotes over on Qualcomm.com. The summit will take place in Hawaii, and people can tune in around the world December 3, 4, and 5 at 9:00 AM HST daily (11:00 AM PST / 2:00 PM EST / 7:00 PM GMT).

Expect to see Qualcomm’s latest flagship Snapdragon chipset lineup, the company’s latest 5G news and updates, and several other exciting advancements in the mobile computing industry. Read more about the highly anticipated Snapdragon 865 SoC and what else to expect at the event below.

Original article: November 8, 2019 (07:05 a.m. ET): It’s nearly that time of year again when Qualcomm unveils its next-generation technologies that are bound to end up in next year’s flagship smartphones. The company’s annual Snapdragon Tech Summit is taking place in Maui again this year, running from December 3 to December 5. Android Authority will be there again this year to bring you in-depth coverage of all the announcements.

The main attraction is almost certain to be Qualcomm’s next high-end smartphone system-on-a-chip, dubbed the Snapdragon 865. The chip name is already outed, courtesy of Chinese luxury brand 8848 and its upcoming Titanium M6 5G handset, which isn’t expected to launch until 2020. The Snapdragon 865 will replace last year’s flagship Snapdragon 855 that powered many of 2019’s high-end phones and will likely appear in its first products in early 2020.

What to expect from Snapdragon Tech Summit 2019

Qualcomm is keeping details of its Snapdragon 865 under wraps until the event. However, there are a few key industry trends that Qualcomm will undoubtedly follow with the 865. A version with an integrated 5G modem is almost a certainty, following HUAWEI’s Kirin 990 5G announcement. The company has also promised that mid-range chips will receive integrated 5G treatment in 2020, so we may see an additional announcement along these lines too. If so, we’re probably also due an update to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X55 modem, which was unveiled back in February.

Other Snapdragon 865 features are likely to include an updated Adreno GPU and new CPU cores, possibly based on the latest powerhouse Cortex-A77 part from Arm. Qualcomm also doubled down on image processing and machine learning capabilities last year, and these are likely to be areas of focus once again with the Snapdragon 865.

Tech Summit 2018 also saw the launch of the company’s Snapdragon 8cx SoC. This is Qualcomm first dedicated laptop chip, ignoring the tweaked Snapdragon 850 mobile platform, offering enhanced CPU, GPU, and video processing capabilities. We could well see an update to this product, perhaps with more powerful processing components and/or an integrated 5G modem.

Other potential announcements include a new Snapdragon Wear chip for smartwatches and possible additions to the company’s audio product range. There’s plenty to look out for alongside the Snapdragon 865, so be sure to stay tuned to our coverage from December 3rd to 5th.