Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 announced with Adreno 420 graphics

Qualcomm has just announced its newest fastest chipset, the Snapdragon 805, which leaps ahead of the current Snapdragon 800 and is bound to be a name to be reckoned with in the year ahead.

First off, the chip is all about the so-called 4K or Ultra HD video. It includes four brand new Krait 450 cores, able to run at 2.5 GHz, and fierce Adreno 420 graphics processor that allows encoding and decoding 4K video in real time without a hitch. A natural side effect of this blazing GPU will be even smoother gaming performance, too.

The next big improvement is in the dual camera image signal processors (ISP), which for the first time allow Gpixel/s throughput for better image quality and faster shot-to-shot times, and include gyro integration for the first system level optical image stabilization support. The sensor support doesn't stop here, as this hardware level integration includes all the other sensors too, for low-power sensor tasks that until recently were the realm of dedicated processors on custom made SoCs like Apple's A7 or Motorola's X8.

If that is not enough for you, Snapdragon 805 also gets packaged with the most advanced connectivity out there, like a 4th-gen multi band Gobi LTE platform for up to 150 Mbps LTE-A download speeds, plus Wi-Fi/ac and low-power Bluetooth 4.0 radios. Here Qualcomm again reminds us that these fiery connectivity options are packaged with the new chipset to enable 4K video streaming with the lowest power consumption on an integrated chipset.

Snapdragon 805 thus opens the door for much more detailed video, games and interfaces, not to mention streaming uninterrupted 4K video, so you can go broke on your data plan even faster. We kid, but given the rumors about WQHD panels on phones like the Galaxy S5 or the Xplay 3S, as well as 4K tablets prepped for next year, Qualcomm's new chip edition is probably not rotating entirely around Ultra HD graphics support by accident.

Snapdragon 805 is currently sampling with phone and tablet makers, and will enter retail devices before June 2014 has rolled out, says Qualcomm, so we should see the first handsets with it announced at the MWC expo, or even hinted at CES in January.

Press Release