The latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset which comes with 5G modem was not one of the biggest attraction in the mobile phone market. However, it is the younger sibling Snapdragon 870, who made to headlines this year. The Snapdragon 870 chipset comes with 5G connectivity. This chipset allowed OEMs to provide flagship level smartphones at more affordable price.
Snapdragon 888 4G based Chip: Leaks and Rumors
To recall, Xiaomi used this processor in it’s recently launched Redmi K40 series smartphones. Additionally, Qualcomm is also aiming to bring another affordable chip for more cheaper smartphones which possibly fall under premium budget smartphone category. According to recent leaks from popular tipster Roland Quandt, Qualcomm is working on a low-end derivation of its premium Snapdragon 888 chip. However, the specification for this upcoming chip not out yet.
Qualcomm has a lower end derivate of the Snapdragon 888 (SM8350) in the works. SM8325 is the model number and there seems to be NO integrated 5G modem on this one. #CheapFlagshipPhones
— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) March 8, 2021
Quandt also confirms that this upcoming chip will skip the 5G modem. This statement from Quandt confirms that the OEMs are likely to bring new smartphones which could possibly deliver better performance with Qualcomm’s upcoming chip. Also, the prices for the upcoming smartphones with this chip are likely to be more affordable. According to leaks, the new upcoming chipset is likely to be called as Snapdragon 888 Lite.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 without 5G Modem:
Till now, there is no specific details about this upcoming 4G-based Snapdragon 888 chipset. The main question arises about how Qualcomm will place this chipset in between premium Snapdragon 888 and the flagship killer Snapdragon 870, as both these chipset comes with 5G modems. Also Read: Qualcomm Snapdragon X65 is the world’s first 10Gbps 5G modem
This new upcoming chipset could help brands like Motorola, Realme, Redmi and Poco to bring more “flagship killer” smartphones to an even more affordable price. Additionally, This upcoming chipset with no 5G connectivity is likely to power the devices in countries with no 5G coverage. Therefore, users will get top-level performance at more affordable price without paying extra for 5G connectivity.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and it’s siblings:
To recall, The OnePlus 9 series member OnePlus 9 Pro is likely to feature Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset. Thus, it will cost much higher than expected. Also, we are waiting to see the pricing for the upcoming Snapdragon 870 smartphones in Indian markets.
The recently launched Motorola Edge S which comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870 chip starts at a low price of Rs 23000 in China. The Xiaomi’s Redmi K40 sells at similar pricing despite of 5G-enabled chipset. Also Read: OnePlus 9 series recent leak brings out some of the new details
The main question arises, Will Qualcomm offer higher performance 5G chipset to OEMs at more affordable price? However, The Snapdragon 888 chipset has proven it’s worth with limited number of premium Android smartphones. Therefore, we expect that it’s 4G-base sibling will not be any different.
Upcoming smartphones with Snapdragon 888 chip:
Also, any smartphone with Snapdragon 888 chipset is yet to land in Indian markets. It is likely that OnePlus could bring it’s OnePlus 9 series smartphone with Snapdragon 888 chip in India. Also, Xiaomi is likely to launch it’s Mi 11 flagship smartphone in India. Other brands like Oppo and Vivo are likely to follow the same trend in near future. Yesterday, Asus became the first brand to bring it’s ROG Phone 5 in India with Snapdragon 888 SoC.
