Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 835 processor built on Samsung's 10 nm process
This morning, Qualcomm announced the successor to its Snapdragon 820 and 821 mobile processors, the Snapdragon 835. Collaborating with Samsung the chip will be built using Samsung’s 10 nanometer FinFET process.
Speaking for Qualcomm, senior vice president of product management Keith Kressin said:
“Using the new 10nm process node is expected to allow our premium tier Snapdragon 835 processor to deliver greater power efficiency and increase performance while also allowing us to add a number of new capabilities that can improve the user experience of tomorrow’s mobile devices.”
The 10 nm FinFET process from Samsung is the first to enter mass production for mobile devices, and the Snapdragon 835 will be the first piece of silicon built upon it. It’s a definitely an improvement from the previous 14 nm process, as the new chips will offer “up to a 30% increase in area efficiency with 27% higher performance or up to 40% lower power consumption.”
The smaller process also creates more physical space inside the chassis of a device, which creates options for larger components or smaller designs. For example, the smaller footprint could allow for bigger batteries. Coupled with the chip’s improved power efficiency, we could see a sizable gain in the battery life of mobile devices equipped with the Snapdragon 835. This is further helped by the Snapdragon 835’s support of Qualcomm Quick Charge 4, which Qualcomm claims can charge a device 20% faster than Quick Charge 3.
Jong Shik Yoon, executive vice president and head of foundry business at Samsung, said that the collaborative effort “is an important milestone for our foundry business as it signifies confidence in Samsung’s leading chip process technology.”
The Snapdragon 835 is currently in production and is expected to be in devices in the first half of 2017.
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