Qualcomm has introduced its new Snapdragon 870 5G mobile platform, a system-on-a-chip (SoC) that’s essentially a refreshed version of its Snapdragon 865+ chipset. This new SoC is made for manufacturers who want to release high-end phones this year without using the more expensive Snapdragon 888 SoC, which was revealed last week.
The biggest change with the Snapdragon 870 5G over the 865 models is its faster speed at 3.2GHz versus the 865’s 2.84GHz and the 865 Plus’s 3.1GHz. The new model packs the company’s Kyro 585 CPU and Adreno 650 GPU, as well as ‘truly global’ 5G connectivity with both mmWave and sub-6GHz support.
Qualcomm touts the Snapdragon 870 5G platform as enabling high-end mobile gameplay via Snapdragon Elite Gaming with 10-bit color depth and true HDR. Among other things, the 870 platform includes Qualcomm’s Spectra 480 image signal processor and 14-bit computer vision hardware accelerators.
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The mobile platform enables up to a single 200MP camera, as well as recording 720p video at up to 960fps slow motion. The Snapdragon 870 5G likewise supports 4K video recording with simultaneous 64MP image capture, 8K video capture at 30fps, up to 10-bit color depth, and Rec. 2020 color gamut. Video capture formats include HDR10 and HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and HLG; photo capture support comes in the form of HEIF.
These are essentially the same camera specs found on the Snapdragon 865 Plus platform, which isn’t surprising since both the 865 and 870 sport the Spectra 480 ISP. The Snapdragon 870 5G’s display specs, meanwhile, include support for displays up to 4K/60Hz or QHD+/144Hz, as well as external 4K/60Hz displays, HDR10 and HDR10+, 10-bit color depth and Rec. 2020 color gamut.
According to Qualcomm’s VP of Product Management Kedar Kondap, the 870 5G mobile platform will be available in flagships from a number of phone makers this year, including devices form iQOO, Motorola, OnePlus, OPPO, Xiaomi and others.
