Smartphone firms to use Qualcomm 5G chip
Qualcomm announces industry partners and clients during an online conference.
Chinese smartphone vendors will become the first batch of vendors of Qualcomm’s latest 5G chip, which is expected to be the major 5G mobile chip for flagship Android phones next year.
Qualcomm announced new mobile chip platform Snapdragon 888 at an online conference on Wednesday. It features a full-function 5G modem, improved artificial intelligence and support for high resolution photography and video, said Qualcomm, which called itself “a camera company” during the online conference.
Chinese firms Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and ZTE, said they will use the new chip in flagship models next year, and as soon as in the first quarter.
Hong Kong-listed Xiaomi is to launch a flagship 5G model with the chip next year, Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s CEO, told the conference online.
In a statement on Wednesday, Oppo said it would launch its new Find X phones with the Snapdragon 888 chip in the first quarter to “boost 5G development and popularity and connect all devices.”
In the third quarter, global smartphone production jumped 20 percent to hit a record 336 million units as demand for new phones and 5G upgrades recovered falling the pandemic, according to researcher TrendForce.
The name Snapdragon 888 represents Qualcomm’s high expectations of Chinese market as the number 888 means fortune and prosperity, industry officials said.
