Qualcomm a few days ago announced that the first Snapdragon 835 laptops are finally happening. Devices powered by the same platform found inside this year’s Android flagships including the Galaxy S8 and Note8 will have all-day battery life and always-on LTE connectivity.
That’s excellent news, and it opens up a brand new type of mobile computing. But don’t get too excited just yet. In fact, the best thing you could do about these devices is to ignore them for about a year.
That’s because the next best thing is just around the corner. I’m talking about the Snapdragon 845 processor that will power next year’s Galaxy S9 and many other Android devices. And if you thought Snapdragon 835 Windows 10 laptops sound exciting, then Snapdragon 845 laptops will be even better. Qualcomm further perfected the Snapdragon chips, and the 845 platform will be even better suited for mobile experiences on laptops.
The new processor is 25% more powerful than its predecessor, and graphics performance is up by 30%. These are relevant parameters, especially when talking about machines that should run Windows 10 apps. And there’s support for AR and VR features built into Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 platform, and we all know Microsoft is betting big on such experiences for the future of Windows 10.
Moreover, the chip comes with a new built-in Snapdragon X20 LTE modem that supports theoretical LTE speeds of up to 1.2Gbps. Wi-Fi speeds now support the 802.11ad standard, and there’s Bluetooth 5.0 support inside the 845.
Other specs include a new image signaling processor, a new secure processing unit that can handle biometrics, encryption, and mobile payments, and support for artificial intelligence.
The Snapdragon 835 isn’t comparable with Apple’s A10X and A11 Bionic chips. But even so, it’ll still be able to offer you a decent Windows 10 experience, as long s you don’t need the power of an Intel chip inside your laptop. But if you’ve waited this long for ARM-based laptops that support 4G LTE and offer excellent battery life, what’s another year? It sure looks like the Snapdragon 845 will offer an even better overall experience.
Just like the Snapdragon 835, the new chip is made by Samsung on an improved 10nm process, and the Galaxy S9 will probably the first handset in the world to make use of it. Snapdragon 845 laptops will probably arrive only much later down the road. Until then, however, rumors say Galaxy S9 buyers will be able to enjoy an even better Android desktop experience thanks to a brand new accessory.
