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Leaked Snapdragon SM8450 details point to a Qualcomm and Leica collaboration for the Snapdragon 888 successor

The Snapdragon SM8450 has the codename Waipio, which is also a Hawaiian island. (Image source: Qualcomm)
The Snapdragon SM8450 has the codename Waipio, which is also a Hawaiian island. (Image source: Qualcomm)
Initial details about the Snapdragon 888's successor have leaked, which should arrive later this year. The information suggests that Qualcomm may have partnered with Leica for the upcoming flagship SoC, among other things.

Only a few months have passed since Qualcomm revealed the Snapdragon 888, its flagship SoC for 2021. Assigned the model number SM8350, it emerged yesterday that the company is also working on a SoC called the SM8325. Supposedly a Snapdragon 888 without a built-in 5G modem, the SM8325 may be at the heart of many cheaper flagship smartphones this year. However, Roland Quandt has already published details about Qualcomm's next flagship SoC, the SM8450.

According to Quandt, Qualcomm has codenamed the SM8450 'Waipio', presumably after the Hawaiian island of the same name. The part number SM8450 is the giveaway that Waipio is a flagship SoC though, as it follows directly on from this year's SM8350 (Snapdragon 888). Searching for Waipio on benchmarking websites like Geekbench reveals no results, currently, but Quandt has outlined that SM8450 developer platforms have 12 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256 GB of UFS flash storage.

Additionally, Quandt mentions that developer platforms also contain a camera module designated as 'Leica1'. Typically, Android OEMs source camera modules independently of Qualcomm, so the presence of this module does not suggest that flagship smartphones released next tear will all have Leica cameras. Instead, it may point to Leica optimising the SM8450's Image Signal Processor (ISP), which influences image quality.

It is unclear when Qualcomm will unveil the SM8450. We would expect to see benchmark results containing Waipio motherboards to arrive towards the end of 2021, though.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2021 03 > Leaked Snapdragon SM8450 details point to a Qualcomm and Leica collaboration for the Snapdragon 888 successor
Alex Alderson, 2021-03- 9 (Update: 2021-03- 9)