Qualcomm Snapdragon 898 specs leaked: 4nm process, Cortex-X2 Core, and more

July 29, 2021 at 06:41PM

Qualcomm recently upgraded the Snapdragon 888 to its Plus variant and we are already hearing rumours of the next-in-line Snapdragon 898 that’s expected to power flagships phones in 2022.  

The leak comes from popular tipster Ice Universe (via Mydrivers) who claims that the next-generation Snapdragon 898 will be based on the latest 4nm process and have Cortex-X2 cores clocked at up to 3.09GHz

The leak doesn’t specify if the performance and power cores will employ the latest ARM IPs like Cortex-A710 and Cortex-A510 or not. 

Snapdragon 898 Specifications and Details - Not the first to cross the 3.0GHz threshold

The Snapdragon 898 will be manufactured on the 4nm process and will have the Cortex-X2 based Prime core clocked at up to 3.09 GHz. In comparison, the Snapdragon 888 Plus maxes out at 2.995 GHz and the Snapdragon 888 at 2.84GHz. 

This is not the first time that Qualcomm has breached the 3.0GHz threshold, though. In fact, the Snapdragon 865+ also had its Prime Cortex-A77 core clocked at up to 3.09GHz and Qualcomm later backtracked with the Snapdragon 888. The reason for the same is quite clear now, even with lower clock speed, the Snapdragon 888 doesn't score well when it comes to power efficiency. 

ARM’s Cortex-X2 belongs to the ARM’s X-series architecture that debuted with the Cortex-X1. Unlike with the Cortex-A series IP, ARM’s objective here is to maximize performance without prioritizing PPA (Power Performance, Area) dictates. The probable reason is to make the chipsets using Cortex-X2 cores suitable for more demanding devices like laptops and convertibles. 

At the same time, considering that the current generation chipsets with Cortex-X1 cores like Snapdragon 888 and Exynos 2100 don’t exactly shine when it comes to power efficiency, the switch to a higher frequency of 3.09 GHz for the more power hungry Cortex-X2 core doesn’t sound like a reason to rejoice just yet. We will need to wait and watch to know how much of a difference the new 4nm process node makes in this regard. 

ARM announced that the Cortex-X2 cores in May this year and projected peak performance improvements of 16% as compared to the Cortex-X1 cores. These figures will be realized only if the next generation chipsets like Snapdragon 898 upgrade the L3 cache from 4MB to 8MB. 

Meanwhile, MediaTek is reportedly trying to beat Qualcomm to market with its own 4nm chipset that’s expected to narrow the performance gap between MediaTek’s current Dimensity flagship and Qualcomm’s top of the line Snapdragon 888. 

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