Qualcomm today announced a sequel to its Snapdragon 865 in the form of the Snapdragon 865 Plus 5G Mobile Platform. Beneath the lengthy name hides yet another system-on-chip designed for the very top Android handsets, tablets, and other such consumer electronics. But mostly smartphones, based on historical precedent.
Its predecessor has been used in over 140 device designs to date, so suffice it to say that Qualcomm has high hopes for the newly unveiled platform, as well. As the name of this chipset already indicates, we are looking at an SoC with full-fledged 5G connectivity on board. Both sub-6GHz and millimeter-wave (mmWave) networks are fully supported, Qualcomm clarified.
Of course, mmWave networks are still in their infancy, but whenever they do end up being deployed more widely, Snapdragon 865 Plus 5G devices will be ready. Speaking of which, the first Android smartphones utilizing this premium chip from Qualcomm are expected to become commercially available early in the final quarter of the year, Qualcomm said during today’s announcement.
The title of the first Snapdragon 865 Plus 5G device has already been snatched up, however; that honor went to the newly announced ASUS ROG Phone 3. Last but not least, Qualcomm confirmed that Wi-Fi 6 and on-device AI computing support are both part of this SoC package.