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Qualcomm 855+ platform

Built for gaming, improved graphics and CPU performance 4G & 5G connectivity

Jon Peddie

Qualcomm has been hinting about their forthcoming processor and now they have officially unveiled the Snapdragon 855+ Mobile Platform, a follow on to the flagship Snapdragon 855. As you might expect, it is launching with leading OEMs globally. The company bills it as built for speed to support enhanced performance and deliver leading experiences in multi-gigabit 5G, gaming, AI and XR.  

The platform features a boost in performance (both GPU and CPU) offering the following enhancements over Snapdragon 855: 

  • Qualcomm Kryo 485 CPU Prime core clock speed increased to 2.96 GHz (from 2.84 GHz).
  • Qualcomm Adreno 640 GPU offers a 15% increase (from 585 MHz, making it ~ 673 MHz).

The 855+ includes many of Qualcomm’s latest technologies and features related to gaming, AI and XR:

  • Gaming: The company claims the 855+ is built for speed to support enhanced performance and deliver leading experiences in gaming with a suite of hardware and software features it says are optimized for gaming such as a Vulkan 1.1 Graphics Driver that the company claims is 20% more power-efficient than Open GL ES. It also features software enhancements such as Game Jank Reducer, Game Fast Loader, Game Anti- Cheat Extensions, and more.
  • AI: The company says it is offering ultra-responsive gaming with the 4th generation multi-core AI Engine, which a capacity of more than 7 TOPs of programmable AI acceleration.
  • XR: (virtual reality/augmented reality) takes advantage of the 5G X50 modem which the company says enables fast, smooth 5G experiences.

Snapdragon 855 Plus with an integrated multi-gigabit Snapdragon X24 LTE 4G modem also supports 5G connectivity using the X50 5G modem and Qualcomm Technologies’ RF Front-end solutions to deliver best-in-class cellular performance, superior coverage and all-day battery life in premium 5G devices.
Commercial devices based on Snapdragon 855 Plus are expected to be commercial 2H 2019. 855+ and Asus is expected to be one of the first with an upgraded ROG phone. It could show up at Gamescom.