Rollback in SoCs - Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 phones rolling out.

[williamcll]

Due to global chip supplies still not meeting with demands, Qualcomm has taken a step back in manufacturing by beginning to release phones equipped with the Snapdragon 870, a refresh of the 865 SoC

Three brands that I know of is releasing a model: Motorola, Meizu and Vivo

Quote

Vivo is rumored to launch the next generation of its iQOO Neo sub-series in March 2021. This upcoming 5 variant was originally rumored to boast improved 88W Flash Charging in addition to the "new" Snapdragon 870 processor. However, those encouraging leaks may have been disproved with a subsequent live image purporting to show the phone in its box with a 66W power brick.

The Neo5 has also allegedly been snapped with its OriginOS specs page open, thus possibly confirming it will launch with this new Android 11 skin, at least 1 128GB internal storage SKU and 8GB of RAM (although Vivo claims its software extrapolates this to the equivalent of 11GB in terms of performance). That leak also seems to confirm the 870 platform for the phone, although it also hints at a display with an old-fashioned waterdrop notch due to the screen-protector visible in the image. The Neo5 is also rumored to have a 12GB RAM/256GB storage option, to start at 3598 yuan (~$556), whereas its 8/128GB version will be 2998 yuan (~US$464).

Last month, the Moto Edge S was released in the mainland. It is now believed that the international version will be announced later on as the G100

Quote

The listing shows the phone managed 957 points in the single-core department and 2,815 in the multi-core test. The “nio” motherboard corresponds to the Snapdragon 870 SoC which is complemented by 8GB RAM. We can also see the phone runs Android 11.The Moto G100 will serve as the flagship entry in the G-lineup which was recently overhauled with the Moto G10 and G30 budget offerings. We’re expecting Motorola to bring more details on the G100 soon so stay tuned.

 

 

Meizu also has teased an upcoming 870 equipped phone: The Meizu 18

Quote

A screenshot posted by a Weibo user shows a screenshot of settings in a Meizu smartphone. As you can see below, the model number is M181Q. Now, if you recall, two devices with similar model number was spotted on 3C certification a bit earlier. Just like the leak, the settings show that it is Meizu 18.

Other specs listed include a Triple-camera setup with a 64MP main lens, and two other 12MP + 5MP sensors. Having said that, Meizu has teased that it would unveil something tomorrow(Feb. 23) at 10 AM Beijing Time which according to its poll on Weibo hints at a new Flyme OS version based on Android 11. It wouldn’t be surprising if the brand starts teasing the new flagship series from tomorrow either. Speaking of which, the Meizu 18 series will likely have two devices- Meizu 18 and Meizu 18 Pro. The duo is expected to feature a flat punch-hole Samsung E4 AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 3,910mAh and 4,410mAh batteries respectively.

Source: https://www.qualcomm.com/products/snapdragon-870-5g-mobile-platform

https://www.notebookcheck.net/iQOO-Neo5-more-details-on-the-Snapdragon-870-phone-reportedly-emerge-prior-to-its-launch.523235.0.html

https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_g100_spotted_on_geekbench_expected_as_the_global_moto_edge_s-news-47862.php

https://weibo.com/6509639961/K2YALCv6R

https://www.gizmochina.com/2021/02/22/alleged-meizu-18-specs-leaked-could-feature-snapdragon-870-chipset/
Thoughts: Might be another month before anything international is announced. Oddly this is back on the TSMC 7nm rather than Samsung 5nm, aren't TSMC currently have their orders full? Regardless These minor upgrades don't interest me much.

[RoseLuck462]

We need more chip manufacturers...

[Moonzy]

Me, on my potato phone: pathetic

[PocketNerd]

11 minutes ago, RoseLuck462 said:

We need more chip manufacturers...

Too bad the current manufacturers also hold the patents for their designs, which makes the barrier of entry for new entrants pretty fucking high.

[AndreiArgeanu]

22 minutes ago, RoseLuck462 said:

We need more chip manufacturers...

Not anyone and everyone can make Qualcomm chips, additionally, once things start returning to normal and factories start ramping up production, supply will increase and the shortages will end shortly after that. If they make more factories, once things start to return or return to normal they're going to end up with an issue where they've got a lot more supply than demand which could cause as a result the shutting down of the newly opened factories, potentially before they even get to recoup the costs back.

[Zodiark1593]

Is this due to Apple snapping up most of 5nm?

[Fnige]

4 hours ago, Zodiark1593 said:

Is this due to Apple snapping up most of 5nm?

didnt the 888 had heating shenanigans? could be that

[LAwLz]

13 hours ago, Zodiark1593 said:

Is this due to Apple snapping up most of 5nm?

The Snapdragon 888 is not manufactured by TSMC so no, it has nothing to do with Apple.

I think the 888 and Nvidia are competing for manufacturing capacity though.

[leadeater]

14 hours ago, williamcll said:

Might be another month before anything international is announced. Oddly this is back on the TSMC 7nm rather than Samsung 5nm, aren't TSMC currently have their orders full? Regardless These minor upgrades don't interest me much.

If this is a refresh in the name of trying to deal with supply and manufacturing issues I'm not sure how using TSMC 7nm helps either? That's supposed to be significantly over subscribed/demanded.

 

5 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

I think the 888 and Nvidia are competing for manufacturing capacity though.

Isn't the 888 Samsung 5nm and RTX 30 8nm? I don't follow mobile processors much.

[RejZoR]

Actually there were some benchmarks where SD 870 outperformed SD 888 in single thread tasks.

[LAwLz]

9 minutes ago, leadeater said:

Isn't the 888 Samsung 5nm and RTX 30 8nm? I don't follow mobile processors much.

Oops you're right. 5nm Samsung.

Not sure if anything else is being made on that, so Qualcomm (and Samsung for their Exynos chip) might not be competing with anyone for capacity.

[williamcll]

17 hours ago, PocketNerd said:

Too bad the current manufacturers also hold the patents for their designs, which makes the barrier of entry for new entrants pretty fucking high.

How about a RISC-V phone?

[LAwLz]

23 minutes ago, williamcll said:

How about a RISC-V phone?

He was probably talking about the manufacturing plants, not the chips being produced.

The way the chips is manufactured is the same regardless of whether it's an Intel processor, a RISC-V processor, an ARM processor etc, and the way they are manufactured are patented. 

[thechinchinsong]

3 hours ago, RejZoR said:

Actually there were some benchmarks where SD 870 outperformed SD 888 in single thread tasks.

Really? That's pretty sad for something that's supposed to be competitive with any of Apple's processors from the past 2 years.

[Lord Bloobus]

I mean, I don't see an issue, I'd prefer they put older stuff in and save battery over some needlessly powerful new chip. Most phones are already in a place where more computing power makes no sense for their user. There's a real issue with pushing the envelope where it's not needed when we've known what the average consumer desires for years despite "trends" that would like to prove otherwise. Battery life and functionality. About the only real reason for upgrades at this point is if you want a better camera, yet it seems you're still sacrificing battery life for a better filter on pictures you'll scroll back to next year. We already saw an instance of a phone manufacturer going backwards in chips for cost.

[Zodiark1593]

6 hours ago, LAwLz said:

The Snapdragon 888 is not manufactured by TSMC so no, it has nothing to do with Apple.

I think the 888 and Nvidia are competing for manufacturing capacity though.

My mistake there. I hadn’t heard about Qualcomm using Samsung since the Snapdragon 835/845 days, so I’d assumed they were on TSMC. 
 

Perhaps the 870 is just for the sake of dual-sourcing on a short notice? If demand exceeds their supply without having forecast it, this seems to be the likely result. Given that Qualcomm competes with Nvidia for Samsung silicon, they’re probably not able to expand capacity.