BenQ F52 packs Snapdragon 810 SoC and Android 5.0

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BY Unknown 01:33 0

BenQ F52 packs Snapdragon 810 SoC and Android 5.0

The Taiwanese manufacturer BenQ partnered up with Cheetah Mobile to unveil the F52 smartphone with Android 5.0 Lollipop. The handset will be on display during the upcoming MWC in Barcelona.

BenQ F52 packs 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC with octa-core CPU. A 5.2” 1080p display, 13MP main camera, and 8MP front-facing snapper are also among the known specifications. The full list is yet to be known

As you can see in the image above, the device’s Android 5.0 Lollipop build will be heavily customized. Preloaded apps will include Clean Master, GP Security and GP Battery Doctor.

Two more devices by BenQ will debut alongside the F52 - the B50 and B502. They are likely to be mid-range offerings.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 found to run cooler than the 801

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BY Unknown 16:04 0

Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 found to run cooler than the 801

There have been questions raised recently about the TDP of the upcoming Snapdragon 810 chipset, which was apparently high enough to cause Samsung to allegedly drop it out of its upcoming Galaxy S6 smartphone. On the other hand, LG dismissed it as a non-issue.

To put the confusion to rest, STJS Gadgets Portal ran some tests on both the new Snapdragon 810 and the Snapdragon 801 to see how the new chipset compares to what we are already familiar with by now.

The tests compared the skin temperatures, that is the temperature of the surface of the device (which is what matters since that's the part you will be touching) in a 25 degree Celsius room temperature environment. Two tests were ran on the devices, one with Asphalt 8 being played to check gaming performance, and the other where 4K video was recorded on the devices.

In the first test, the device running Snapdragon 810 managed to reach around 40°C while the Snapdragon 801 device was at 45°C. In the second test, the Snapdragon 810 device was once again cooler, hitting 35°C while the Snapdragon 801 device reached around 43°C.

This test does show that the new generation Qualcomm chip is indeed cooler than the 801 in these specific tests on these particular devices in these ambient temperature situations. Of course, when you take into account other use cases, variations in device designs and variations in ambient temperatures, things could change considerably, so it's best to take these results with a pinch of salt.

Sony Xperia Z4 visits GeekBench with its Snapdragon 810 chipset

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BY Unknown 02:56 0

Sony Xperia Z4 visits GeekBench with its Snapdragon 810 chipset

The Xperia Z4 leaks keep mounting, the latest coming from GeekBench. The benchmark confirms a Snapdragon 810 chipset and Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, which is what previous rumors have claimed. The benchmark only found 3GB of RAM though, not 4GB as earlier leaks have suggested.

The Qualcomm MSM8994 chipset, aka Snapdragon 810, features four Cortex-A57 cores and four Cortex-A53 in a big.LITTLE configuration. The processor was only detected at 1.55GHz, which is the top speed of the A53 cores, the faster A57s go as high as 2GHz.

On the graphics side the new Adreno 430, succeeding the 420 in the Snapdragon 805. The new GPU is supposed to offer 30% better performance over the old design, the Cortex-A57 is similarly set to bring 30% more oomph than the A15.

Unfortunately, GeekBench is a CPU-centric benchmark and didn’t even list the screen resolution. It has been suggested that Sony will launch the Xperia Z4 with both a 1080p screen and a QHD one. There's nothing on the camera either, reportedly it will be a 21MP shooter, perhaps using the new IMX230 sensor.

The Sony Xperia Z4 has gotten certifications from the FCC and its Indonesian and Japanese counterparts. We've also seen several of its components leak, all suggesting the handset is close to ready. However, with no press conference at the MWC, chances are Sony won't launch it there and will hold its own event instead.

Snapdragon 810 Windows Phone devices coming in 2015

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BY Unknown 01:59 0

Snapdragon 810 Windows Phone devices coming in 2015

Whether or not Qualcomm is having troubles with the Snapdragon 810 chip, there is no denying it is one of the powerhouses of the season and people are looking forward to devices utilizing it. LG kicked off first with the S810-running LG Flex, but we expect many more flagships with the same hardware to premiere on the MWC in a few weeks.

Meanwhile Microsoft and Qualcomm will continuing their partnership and they confirmed we can expect Windows Phone devices to run on Snapdragon 810 later this year. The Snapdragon 810 chip offers an octa-core 64-bit processor (4x Cortex-A57 and 4x Cortex-A53), console-like graphics and full 4K support thanks to Adreno 430 GPU, plus LTE Cat.9 support for up to 450 Mbps downlink.

Here is the official quote from Qualcomm's press release:

"Microsoft and Qualcomm’s long standing collaboration has allowed the two companies to offer compelling business, imaging, and entertainment experiences with Lumia smartphones running on Windows Phone," said Juha Kokkonen, general manager for portfolio and product management at Microsoft. "We look forward to continuing this relationship to deliver best in class Lumia smartphones, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 processors, and offer an unprecedented combination of processing power, rich multimedia, high-performance graphics and wireless connectivity for our customers."

Microsoft has announced a unified Windows 10 platform across all of its devices and deep Xbox One integration, including game streaming to other devices (such as Sony's Remote Play). The latter would definitely require powerful hardware and stable internet connection, so the Snapdragon 810 look like a logical choice choice.

Anyway, the MWC 2015 is upon us and we should be seeing a plethora of top-notch gadgets premiering there. Hopefully Microsoft shows us something interesting as well.

LG admits initial Snapdragon 810 issues, says they are fixed now

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BY Unknown 22:52 0

LG admits initial Snapdragon 810 issues, says they are fixed now

In another episode of the Snapdragon 810 saga we now witness LG's acknowledgement of issues faced with the chipset's "initial sample". The Korean company restates, however, that all problems have been resolved and the G Flex2 will get its timely release.

The information comes from a press conference held at LG headquarters on Q4 2014 financial matters. Unsurprisingly, questions were raised, regarding the chipset's problems with heat, and in light of recent developments, the company determined it best to come clean.

A legal battle between LG and Qualcomm over a reported dedicated Samsung version of the chipset was deemed out of the question. After the apparent loss of the Samsung Galaxy S6 as a vehicle for its top-of-the-line SoC, Qualcomm will be delighted to know that LG is still on board.

The future LG G4 model has also popped up in conversations at the press conference. Its launch schedule should remain unaffected by the Snapdragon affair, the company insists. On the matter of a possible metal body, a vague answer has been given, stating that it will be decided by market demand.

Qualcomm confirms Snapdragon 810 snub by a “large customer”

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BY Unknown 21:08 0

Qualcomm confirms Snapdragon 810 snub by a “large customer”

Qualcomm confirmed that the high-end Snapdragon 810 chip will not feature “in the upcoming design cycle of a large customer’s flagship device.” The San Diego-based chipmaker announced its first quarter results for the fiscal 2015.

A series of rumors point at Samsung Galaxy S6 as the most likely device to ditch Snapdragon 810 for another solution. The Korean giant’s next flagship smartphone will likely utilize a beefy Exynos 7420 chipset with 14nm architecture and octa-core CPU.

Qualcomm posted a stellar net income of $2.1 billion from $7.1 billion of revenue for the quarter it reported. However, due to the Snapdragon 810 snub and increased competition from China, the company lowered its earnings expectations for the second half of the fiscal 2015.

Overall. Qualcomm somewhat confirmed the floating rumors about Snapdragon 810 not being up to snuff. Losing a “large customer” is certainly not something the company is used to - its silicon featured in just about every high-end smartphone over the past couple of years.

New theory: Samsung ditching S810 for business reasons

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BY Unknown 03:30 0

New theory: Samsung ditching S810 for business reasons

One of the bigger controversies surrounding the next eagerly anticipated Samsung flagship - theGalaxy S6 is whether or not it will use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC or stick entirely with the in-house Exynos chip. There has been a lot of talk about alleged overheating issues in the chip as the main reason for Samsung's distrust, but the issues is still open to debate. The mere existence of a couple of new smartphones that will be relying on the Snapdragon 810 - the LG G Flex 2 and Xiaomi Mi Note Pro is a testament for reliability and suggest that Samsung may have some other concern.

According to a recent report from ETNews, the Korean tech giant might have another agenda which excludes Qualcomm from powering its next flagship. The fact of the matter is that Samsung has certain advantages over the Snapdragon lineup with its Exynos 7420 chip mainly thanks to the 14nm manufacturing process.

It allows for a significantly higher clock rate of 2.1 GHz over the 1.6GHz of the Costex A57 cores in the 20nm Snapdragon 810. Samsung may well be planning to use this advantage to target a broader market with its own CPUs by offering them to third-party device manufacturers.

The reasons for suspecting that the time has come for such a move are plentiful. In the past Samsung had little choice in using Qualcomam chips, due to the built-in LTE modems which offer significantly better battery performance than an external solution. Now that this is sorted out and Exynos chips come packaged with the same level of connectivity and with an alleged GPU in the works, the Korean smartphone authority might just start grabbing chip sales away from the competition as well.

Qualcomm providing Samsung with a modified version of Snapdragon 810

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BY Unknown 21:00 0

Qualcomm providing Samsung with a modified version of Snapdragon 810

The Snapdragon 810 was set on to be the chipset of choice for the majority of this year's flagships, but persistent rumors of overheating problems have shaken Qualcomm's dominant position. Reports surfaced, stating that Samsung will opt for its in-house Exynos silicon to avoid potential delays in production.

Industry insiders, however, have stated that Qualcomm is developing an updated version

of the SoC for Samsung to use. The new release will be available to the Korean company in March, which poses the question whether the Snapdragon 810 will actually make it in time for the Galaxy S6.

The piece of news comes as a bit of an acknowledgement by Qualcomm of the chipset's issues, which the company has strenuously denied so far.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 is featured in a number of already announced top-tier smartphones, including the LG G Flex2 and the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro. Those manufacturers have similarly denied facing complications with the SoC. It is unclear whether the updated version will be available to those companies too or it will be a Samsung exclusive.

Qualcomm's Adreno 430 benchmarked, Crushes Adreno 330

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BY Unknown 04:43 0

Qualcomm's Adreno 430 benchmarked, Crushes Adreno 330

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 has come under fire with reports that it will be delayed because overheats, though both Qualcomm and LG (which launched the first S810-powered phone) refute those claims. What can we expect from this chip?

After all, it’s based on ARM’s CPU cores not a Qualcomm custom design. Well, the GPU is a custom design and GFX Bench gives us a taste of what it is capable of.

Adreno 430 promises a 30% performance boost over the Adreno 420 that’s currently found in the Snapdragon 805, which was the last hurrah of Krait and also the chipset of choice for late 2014 flagships.

The test was run on a development board, so we’ll just use the off-screen numbers to measure normalized performance.

Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

• Tegra X1 Maxwell (Dev. board)63.4
• Tegra K1 Kepler (Nexus 9)31.1
• Adreno 430 (Dev. board)21.9
• PowerVR GX6450 (iPhone 6 Plus)19.3
• Adreno 420 (Nexus 6)18.6
• Mali-T760 (Galaxy Note 4)16.7
• Adreno 330 (HTC One M8)12.1

T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

• 
  
• Tegra K1 Kepler (Nexus 9)62.5
• Adreno 430 (Dev. board)47.9
• PowerVR GX6450 (iPhone 6 Plus)45.1
• Adreno 420 (Nexus 6)38.3
• Adreno 330 (HTC One M8)28.2
• Mali-T760 (Galaxy Note 4)27.8

Going by these numbers the new Adreno 430 and the Snapdragon 810 chipsets will be in have a slight performance advantage over the PowerVR GX6450 that Apple uses for its iPhone 6 Plus. Nvidia’s Tegra offers unmatched performance but no one has managed to fit it into a smartphone yet (due to power and thermal constraints).

The difference between Adreno 430 and 420 varies by the test as it will between different game engines and goes from a solid 10fps difference to about 3fps. Still, most people with a 2014 flagship got it early and are a generation behind with the Adreno 330 and the improvement there is massive.