What Snapdragon's New Chip Means For The Next OnePlus Flagship Device
Pete Lau promises the "best performance experience" from the yet-to-be-announced device, but will it make use of the features Qualcomm is promising?
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau says the company's next flagship device will be the first to carry Qualcomm's recently announced Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, the successor to the current high-end Snapdragon 888 Plus. Qualcomm introduced its system-on-a-chip (SoC) at the end of last month, promising a slew of powerful features and performance upgrades. From support for 8K HDR video to the ability to power an always-on selfie camera, Qualcomm is pitching the chip as the new benchmark for the smartphone industry.
For OnePlus, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is an obvious choice. The firm is rumored to be launching a OnePlus 10 Pro as soon as January or February next year, which will compete with Samsung's anticipated Galaxy S22 line, as well as the Google Pixel 6 and iPhone 13. Several leaks of the OnePlus 10 Pro have already come out, indicating the smartphone will feature a 6.7-inch Quad HD+ display with curved sides and an embedded selfie camera.
Lau has not confirmed what the next OnePlus device will be, but in a recent post to Chinese social platform Weibo, the executive noted the company's efforts are currently "focused on the optimization of the Snapdragon flagship processor" for its new product. Lau also suggested the smartphone would launch soon and offer the "best performance experience." What exactly Lau means remains unclear, but if the OnePlus 10 Pro truly is the first Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 handset, then it's likely OnePlus will want to take advantage of what it has to offer.
Among the headline features of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is the promise it can handle up to 10-Gigabit 5G download speeds. In addition, the graphical performance is also slated for a 30 percent improvement thanks to the Adreno GPU, all while sipping 25 percent less power than its previous-generation chip. Indeed, many industry-watchers have posited the SoC is well-positioned to take on Google's Tensor and Apple's A15 Bionic.
Still, both Google and Apple have clearly realized the benefit of owning the entire hardware and software stack when producing their own smartphones. For example, despite using modest power cells, Apple has still achieved notable battery improvements in the iPhone 13 lineup thanks to optimizations in how iOS interacts with the physical device. Google has also been able to roll out features exclusive to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro simply because the proprietary chip can do more with the company's build of Android. OnePlus, however, does not make its own chips or operating system, meaning it likely has to work harder to fit the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 into its vision of a smartphone. That doesn't mean the OnePlus 10 Pro will necessarily be compromised, of course, but it's always possible the firm won't take full advantage of all that Qualcomm's SoC has to offer.
Source: Weibo