There was a time when secrets were easily kept, but nowadays it’s really getting hard to keep secrets especially with the internet in reach of hands. Why go far, look at us, we also expose upcoming features and devices way before their official launch. And, who’s to blame- the poor internet.

And, here we go again with another leak. The Snapdragon 855 chip is ready to take the smartphone world in its storm. Yes, there are still months to the official release, but the news is 100% confirmed.

Why is there so much excitement over the Snapdragon 855?

First of all, it’s not just a chip, but the power base for flagship devices that will be launched next year. And, not just Android devices, but the most awaited Samsung Galaxy S10 as well. So let’s spill out all the beans we have gathered.

Here’s proof the Snapdragon 855 is for real!

As said above, Qualcomm has not given any official announcement on the chip as of yet, but their engineers are making sure no one misses out. This is confirmed as we found plenty of LinkedIn pages from Qualcomm engineers stating the chip usage. Matter of fact, internally the chip is called the SDM855 and expectations are for a 2019 launch.

Will the Snapdragon 855 name stay around?

Though Qualcomm has not announced Snapdragon 855 being the name hence, possibility lies in the chip being called by another name as well. In fact, the name could entirely be changed and we have a reliable source to back us up. Yes, the reliable source is Roland Quandt. No, he didn’t tell us directly, but through his tweet where he’s quoted on the possible name change, but for now calling it the Snapdragon 855.

Seems like Qualcomm has a new naming scheme coming. Snapdragon 855 is not what the final name will be – need to do more research on this, but I think they are switching the chip names to a different scheme to separate chips being destined for mobile from the ones for use in PCs.

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) August 16, 2018

Snapdragon 845 vs 855: What’s New

The biggest change or upgrade from the 845 to the 855 is supposed to be the shifting to the newer more self-efficient manufacturing. The ongoing 845 Snapdragon chip fabricates on a 10nm process, while the 855 Snapdragon will give a 7nm process, a truly high-end SoCs. This is definitely bringing gains to the next generation Snapdragon chips in terms of much better power efficiency and performance.

Ok, to be frank, all this is at present is a mere assumption, but the hints received definitely are stating the facts. For eg: recently Qualcomm gave the X24 official modem announcement of a 7nm LTE chipset capable of delivering 2Gbps speed data. They also pointed on the X24 possibility integration with the Snapdragon 855, which obviously proves it is a 7nm chip. Again, multiple occasions have been noted where the X24 and SDM855 are mentioned in one line by a Qualcomm employee.

At present, the 855 Snapdragon specs are not confirmed and only assumptions can be made on how many CPU cores or the GPU ability will be delivered. If we go by the currently available stats, Snapdragon 855 is definitely going to integrate high-tech augmentation and real virtual applications, not to forget machine learning to implement and artificial intelligence as well.

Is Snapdragon 855 a 5G chip?

5G connection is definitely the talk of the town, after all, it’s the next hurricane in the internet world. So how can it not be mentioned with Snapdragon 855? Well, chances are slim of such possibility. Matter of fact, even the X24 modem was fast, but not 5G speed.

Softbank Japan says this is what’s next from Qualcomm: The Snapdragon 855 Fusion Platform consisting of the SDM855 and the SDX50 Modem (5G). Taken from their official earnings presentation: https://t.co/LR9k4h165N pic.twitter.com/2Ceb6MCnNI

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) March 7, 2018

Nevertheless, possibility lies in the Snapdragon 855 being fitted in the upcoming 5G devices. This has been confirmed by a Japanese corporation Softbank’s report. In the Softbank report, there’s a mentioning of Snapdragon 855 combination with Qualcomm X50 5G modem as a fusion platform. In this scenario, the X50 will provide 5G access in the future by using all possible signals. If you go out of the 5G range, you will be automatically connected to 4G.

Upcoming Snapdragon 855 phones

Though nothing is official, it’s safe to assume Snapdragon 855 will power the Samsung Galaxy S10, or at least in the US. Samsung and Qualcomm have a long working relationship and Samsung Galaxy S10 being the debut Snapdragon 855 device is likely the next era.

Assumptions are on of other companies like Moto, LG, Nokia, OnePlus and Nokia also joining the Snapdragon race as they also have used the chip in their top-tier devices. So, they can also be releasing their Snapdragon 855 devices soon as well.

When will Snapdragon 855 phones reach the market?

Back in December 2017, the announcement of the Snapdragon 845 was made during the Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii. So, now all possibilities lie in the Snapdragon 855 making an official release by 2018’s end. Following the rumors, the chip is already in production. As the Samsung Galaxy S10 is expected to be the first 855 Snapdragon device, possible late February announcement will follow official US release by March 2019.

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