Qualcomm Snapdragon

History

Pre-release

Qualcomm announced it was developing the Scorpion central processing unit (CPU) in November 2007. The Snapdragon system on chip (SoC) was announced in November 2006 and included the Scorpion processor, as well as other semiconductors. This also included Qualcomm's first custom Hexagon digital signal processor (DSP).

According to a Qualcomm spokesperson, it was named Snapdragon, because "Snap and Dragon sounded fast and fierce." The following month, Qualcomm acquired Airgo Networks for an undisclosed amount; it said Airgo's 802.11a/b/g and 802.11n Wi-Fi technology would be integrated with the Snapdragon product suite. Early versions of Scorpion had a processor core design similar to the Cortex-A8.[[File:HTC Desire - main board - Qualcomm QSD8250-2.jpg|thumb|Qualcomm QSD8250]]

2007-2013: 32-bit ARM

The first Snapdragon was released in November 2007. CNET noted its relatively high 1 GHz CPU clock speed as the product's "claim to fame", when contemporary smartphone processors are commonly using 500 MHz CPU. The product can output display at up to 720p resolution, render 3D graphics, and supports a up-to 12-megapixel camera. By November 2008, 15 device manufacturers had embed Snapdragon chips in their consumer electronics products.

In November 2008, a techdemo processor and netbook was showcased. The processor consumed less power than the contemporary Intel Atom Z500. The netbook used 1.5 GHz processors and was intended for developing markets.

In collaboration with Sun, Java SE received Snapdragon-specific optimizations in May 2009. Qualcomm started using 45nm process for SoC productions in late 2009.

In June 2010, Snapdragon chips were incorporated into 120 product designs in development. The company announced the MSM8960 for LTE networks that November.

Apple had a dominant market position for smartphones at the time and did not incorporate Snapdragon into any of its products. The success of Snapdragon therefore relied on competing Android phones.

Support for the Windows Phone 7 operating systems was added to Snapdragon in October 2010.

By 2011 Snapdragon was embedded in Hewlett Packard's WebOS devices and had a 50% market share of a $7.9 billion smartphone processor market.

As of July 2014 Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips were embedded in 41% of smartphones.

Snapdragon chips are also used in Android-based smartwatches, and in vehicles like the Maserati Quattroporte and Cadillac XTS.[[File:LG P710 Optimus L7 II - Qualcomm MSM8225 on main printed circuit board-5427.jpg|thumb|Snapdragon S4 Play Processor - Qualcomm MSM8225]] In early 2011, Qualcomm announced Krait, an in-house CPU microarchitecture design supporting the ARM v7 instruction set. SoCs featuring Krait were named S4 supports asynchronous symmetrical multi-processing (aSMP), meaning each processor core adjusted its clock speed and voltage based on the device's activity in order to optimize battery usage. Prior models were renamed to S1, S2 and S3 to distinguish between each generation.

The S4-based generation of Snapdragon SoCs began shipping to product manufacturers with the MSM8960 in February 2012.In an overall system benchmark, the 8960 obtained a score of 907, compared to 528 and 658 for the Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound respectively. In a Quadrant benchmark test, which assesses raw processing power, a dual-core Krait processor had a score of 4,952, whereas the quad-core Tegra 3 was just under 4,000. The quad-core version, APQ8064, was made available in July 2012. It was the first Snapdragon SoC to use Qualcomm's Adreno 320 graphics processing unit (GPU).

In July 2011 Qualcomm acquired certain assets from GestureTek in order to incorporate its gesture recognition intellectual property into Snapdragon SoCs. In mid-2012 Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon software development kit (SDK) for Android devices at the Uplinq developer conference.It also collaborated with Microsoft to optimize Windows Phone 8 for Snapdragon semiconductors.

As of July 2014, the market share of Android phones had grown to 84.6 percent, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips powered 41% of smartphones.

Snapdragon SoCs are also used in most Windows phones and most phones entering the market in mid-2013.

On the announcement of Snapdragon 800 in 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, Qualcomm renamed their prior models to the 200, 400 and 600 series.

Since 2014: 64-bit ARM

The debut of Apple's 64-bit A7 chip in the iPhone 5S forced Qualcomm to rush out a competing 64-bit solution, despite the capable performance of the Snapdragon 800/801/805, since their existing Krait cores were only 32-bit. The first 64-bit SoCs, the Snapdragon 808 and 810, were rushed to market and released in 2014 using Cortex-A57 and Cortex-A53 cores. They suffered from overheating problems and throttling, particularly the 810, which led to Samsung ditching Snapdragon for its Galaxy S6 flagship phone.

The entry-level 200 series was expanded with six new processors using 28 nanometer manufacturing and dual or quad-core options in June 2013.

In February 2015, Qualcomm re-branded its stand-alone modem products under the Snapdragon name; they were distinguished from SoCs using the "x" designation, such as the X7 or X12 modem.

In early 2016, Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 820, an ARM 64-bit quad-core processor using in-house designed Kryo cores. A higher clocked variant is available as the Snapdragon 821. The SoC uses Samsung's 14 nanometer FinFET process. Together released is the Neural Processing Engine SDK supporting AI acceleration.

The first Snapdragon modem for 5G networks, the X50, was announced in October 2016 and released in late 2019.

The octa-core Snapdragon 835 SoC is announced on 17 November 2016. It uses modified Cortex-A73 and A53 cores and is built using Samsung's 10 nanometer FinFET process.

At Computex 2017 in May, Qualcomm and Microsoft announced plans to launch Snapdragon-based laptops running Windows 10. Qualcomm partnered with HP, Lenovo, and Asus to release slim portables and 2-in-1 devices powered by the Snapdragon 835.

Snapdragon 845 uses updated Cortex-A75 and A55 CPU, and the same 10-nanometer manufacturing process as 835.

The 7 series is introduced in early 2018, targeting pricing and performances between the 6 and 8 series.

Asus, HP and Lenovo have begun selling laptops with Snapdragon-based CPUs running Windows 10 on ARM under the name "Always Connected PCs".

The Snapdragon 855 was released in 2019 and built on TSMC's 7 nanometer process.

The Snapdragon 865 supported 5G cellular network through a separate X55 modem. The 765 has integrated 5G.

The Snapdragon 888 announced in December 2020 is the first Qualcomm SoC to feature ARM's Cortex-X series CPU architecture.

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, which landed on Mars in 2021, has a Snapdragon 801 processor integrated onboard.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 added support for Wi-Fi 7.

Technical details

Main article: List of Qualcomm Snapdragon systems on chips

Snapdragon system on chip products typically include a graphics processing unit (GPU), a global positioning system (GPS) and an (optional) cellular modem integrated into a single package. It has software included that operates graphics, video and picture-taking.

The current Snapdragon naming scheme was implemented after the announcement of Snapdragon 800 family in 2013. Models prior to it were renamed to the 200, 400 or 600 series. The former two targeting entry-level products, while the 600 and 800 targeting mid-range and high-end products, respectively.

The Snapdragon 805 was released in November 2013. The 410, which is intended for low-cost phones in developing nations, was announced the following month. In January 2014, Qualcomm introduced a modified version of the Snapdragon 600 called 602A that is intended for in-car infotainment screens, backup cameras, and other driver assistance products. The quad-core Snapdragon 610 and eight-core 615 were announced in February 2014. The Snapdragon 808 and 810 were announced in April 2014. The Snapdragon 835, announced in November 2017, is the first Qualcomm SOC that is built on a 10nm architecture. Qualcomm's flagship chip for 2018, the 845, was announced in December 2017.

In 2017 the 660 and 630 replaced the 653 and 626 mid-range models and several chips in the 400 product family were revised. In February 2017, Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon X20 cellular modem, intended for 5G cell phone networks, and two new chips for 802.11ax commercial Wi-Fi networks. This was followed by the addition of the 636 to the 600 product family that October.

The 8cx series are SoCs designed for Windows laptops. The first generation 8cx featured two CPU clusters consisting of four Cortex-A76 and A55 CPU cores, respectively. Compared to the contemporary 855, the first 8cx has a larger 10MB L3 cache and double the GPU floating point performance.

Sponsoring

Snapdragon is the primary shirt sponsor for English football club Manchester United starting with the 2024–25 season, replacing the German company TeamViewer.

The brand also holds naming rights for Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. The stadium hosts San Diego State Aztecs football, San Diego FC of Major League Soccer (MLS), and San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

References

References

1. (4 June 2007). "Snapdragon seeds Qualcomm's future". Electronic Engineering Times.
2. BDTI. (5 December 2007). "Analysis: QualComm's 1 GHz ARM "Snapdragon"". Electronic Engineering Times.
3. (16 November 2006). "Qualcomm rolls out Snapdragon for mobile". New Media Age.
4. Oram, John. (12 October 2011). "Qualcomm announces its 2012 superchip: 28NM Snapdragon S4". VRWorld.
5. Kewney, Guy. (May 2009). "Puff the magic Snapdragon". Personal Computer World.
6. Taylor, Colleen. (December 2006). "Qualcomm's Q4 Shopping Spree". Electronics News.
7. Hachman, Mark. (4 December 2006). "Qualcomm Buys Airgo, Bluetooth Assets". ExtremeTech.
8. Crothers, Brooke. (4 February 2009). "Toshiba handheld hits 1GHz with 'Snapdragon'". CNET.
9. Crothers, Brooke. (6 September 2009). "Intel and Qualcomm Eye Each Other's Terrain". The New York Times.
10. Sidener, Jonathan. (1 August 2008). "Qualcomm and Google prepare reply to iPhone". Union-Tribune.
11. Merritt, Rick. (12 November 2008). "Qualcomm launches low-cost PC alternative". Electronic Engineering Times.
12. Sidener, Jonathan. (18 November 2008). "Qualcomm chip shows versatility". Union-Tribune San Diego.
13. "ARM is going after Intel with new chip roadmap through 2020". Windows Central.
14. Markoff, John. (1 July 2008). "Chips for mobile world pose challenge to Intel". International Herald Tribune.
15. Markoff, John. (30 June 2008). "Intel's Dominance Is Challenged by a Low-Power Upstart". The New York Times.
16. (14 July 2008). "Next battleground for processors: powering the consumer computing device". Electronic Engineering Times.
17. Clark, Don. (13 November 2008). "Qualcomm Pushes Beyond Cellphones". The Wall Street Journal.
18. Taft, Darryl. (6 May 2009). "Sun and Qualcomm Tweak Java for Netbooks". eWeek.
19. Eddy, Nathan. (1 June 2009). "Qualcomm Debuts 45nm Snapdragon Chipset". eWeek}}{{Dead link.
20. Perez, Marin. (1 June 2009). "Qualcomm Shows Off New Mobile Chips". InformationWeek.
21. Gardner, David. (18 November 2010). "Qualcomm Details Faster Snapdragon Chipset". InformationWeek.
22. Maisto, Michelle. (18 November 2010). "Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor Redesign Targets Smartphones, Tablets". eWeek}}{{Dead link.
23. Klug, Brian. (30 March 2011). "Dual Core Snapdragon GPU Performance Explored - 1.5 GHz MSM8660 and Adreno 220 Benchmarks".
24. Freeman, Mike. (17 June 2010). "Qualcomm hoping to feast on Snapdragon". Union Tribune San Diego.
25. Fikes, Bradley. (10 January 2010). "Qualcomm pushes to get beyond cell phones". Union Tribune San Diego.
26. Freeman, Mike. (18 October 2010). "Qualcomm gets Snapdragon in new Windows phones". San Diego Union Tribune.
27. (6 January 2011). "Qualcomm to buy Atheros for $3.2 billion". Associated Press.
28. Fitchard, Kevin. (1 June 2011). "Qualcomm struts is mobile gaming stuff". Connected Planet.
29. Caulfield, Brian. (18 July 2012). "No Factories, No Phones, No Fuss: How Qualcomm Grabs Wireless Profits". Forbes.
30. (August 2014). "A Guide to Mobile Processors".
31. Sun, Leo. (29 March 2015). "Will Intel Corporation's Curie Conquer the Internet of Things and Wearables Markets?". Fox Business.
32. Agomuoh, Fionna. (8 January 2015). "Eyeing Growth, Mobile King Qualcomm Targets The Internet Of Things". International Business Times.
33. Clarke, Peter. (16 February 2011). "Qualcomm tips quad-core Snapdragon plan". Electronic Engineering Times.
34. Whitwam, Ryan. (13 October 2011). "How Snapdragon S4 and Tegra 3 manage ARM cores differently".
35. Shimpi, Anand Lal. (3 August 2011). "Qualcomm's Updated Brand: Introducing Snapdragon S1, S2, S3 & S4 Processors". AnandTech.
36. Whitwam, Ryan. (22 February 2012). "Why Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 has the competition on the defensive". ExtremeTech.
37. (21 February 2012). "Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (Krait) Performance Preview". AnAndTech.
38. Whitwam, Ryan. (28 March 2012). "Early Snapdragon S4 benchmarks could spell trouble for Tegra 3".
39. Anthony, Sebastian. (25 July 2012). "Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon S4 eats Tegra and Exynos for breakfast". ExtremeTech.
40. Burt, Jeffrey. (25 July 2011). "Qualcomm Buying Gesture Recognition Assets From GestureTek".
41. Kim, Ryan. (16 July 2012). "Qualcomm Aims to Make Snapdragon a Consumer Brand".
42. Shah, Agam. (21 June 2012). "Windows Phone 8 smartphones to run Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 chip". IDG News Service.
43. Smith, Chris. (31 July 2014). "Strategy Analytics: 85% of phones shipped last quarter run Android". BGR.
44. Anthony, Sebastian. (9 August 2013). "Surface RT 2: Tegra confirmed, despite superiority of Snapdragon and Bay Trail".
45. Cohen, Peter. (16 December 2013). "Apple's 64-bit A7 chip "hit us in the gut," says Qualcomm employee".
46. (20 January 2015). "Samsung Said to Drop Qualcomm Chip From Next Galaxy S". Bloomberg.
47. Cunningham, Andrew. (23 April 2015). "In-depth with the Snapdragon 810's heat problems". Ars Technica.
48. Gomez, Kevin. (24 June 2013). "Qualcomm adds six new processors to its Snapdragon 200 class".
49. "On-Device AI with Qualcomm Snapdragon Neural Processing Engine SDK".
50. Captain, Sean. (17 October 2016). "The Wild Technology That Will Make 5G Wireless Work".
51. (2019-08-14). "Qualcomm's Snapdragon X50 in the Wild: Analyzing 5G Mobile Performance in U.S. Cities".
52. (24 January 2017). "Report: Snapdragon 835 will launch first in Galaxy S8, others have to wait".
53. (31 May 2017). "Microsoft, Qualcomm Partner to Bring Windows 10 to Snapdragon-Powered Laptops". The Apps Central.
54. Low, Cherlynn. (6 December 2017). "Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 doubles down on cameras and AI".
55. Tibken, Shara. (27 February 2018). "Qualcomm's newest chips will give a boost to AI in lower-cost phones".
56. Smith, Ryan. (27 February 2018). "Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 700 Series Platform: Carving Out A Niche for Sub-Premium".
57. (2018-10-02). "Snapdragon 710 Mobile Platform".
58. Frumusanu, Andrei. "The Snapdragon 855 Performance Preview: Setting the Stage for Flagship Android 2019".
59. Gartenberg, Chaim. (4 December 2019). "Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765 chip could usher in the first affordable 5G phones". [[The Verge.
60. Gartenberg, Chaim. (4 December 2019). "Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 865 promises 5G, camera, and gaming improvements". [[The Verge.
61. "Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Processor - Benchmarks and Specs".
62. "4 Android Smartphones With as Much Power as NASA's Mars Helicopter".
63. Whitwam, Ryan. (26 August 2011). "How Qualcomm's Snapdragon ARM chips are unique". ExtremeTech.
64. Veverka, Mark. (17 March 2012). "Qualcomm Inside". Barron's.
65. Hruska, Joel. (8 January 2013). "Qualcomm's Keynote was the most awkward affair in the history of ever". ExtremeTech.
66. Nuttall, Chris. (9 January 2013). "Qualcomm takes centre stage in Las Vegas". Financial Times.
67. Hruska, Joel. (18 February 2015). "Qualcomm rides to war: Multiple new CPUs, modems announced ahead of Mobile World Congress". ExtremeTech.
68. (7 January 2013). "Qualcomm outs Snapdragon 800 and 600: up to 2.3GHz quad-core, 4K video, due by mid 2013".
69. Poeter, Damon. (20 November 2013). "Qualcomm Unveils Next-Gen Snapdragon 805". PC Magazine.
70. (9 December 2013). "Qualcomm's Snapdragon 410 brings 64-bit, LTE to emerging markets".
71. Silbert, Sarah. (6 January 2014). "With the Snapdragon 602A, Qualcomm looks to improve the connected car". Engadget.
72. Cunningham, Wayne. (15 January 2015). "Smart phone, smarter car". CNET.
73. Poeter, Damon. (24 February 2014). "Qualcomm Spices Up Snapdragon 600 Line With New 64-Bit Chips". PC Magazine.
74. Poeter, Damon. (7 April 2014). "Qualcomm Unveils Next-Gen Snapdragon 810, 808 Chips". PC Magazine.
75. Shah, Agam. (28 July 2014). "Qualcomm planting seeds for 4K video, silicon brains in mobile devices". PCWorld.
76. (9 May 2017). "Coming soon to a $250 phone near you: Qualcomm's Snapdragon 660 and 630 chips".
77. Frumusanu, Andrei. (11 February 2016). "Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 625, 425 & 435 Mid- and Low-End SoCs".
78. Low, Aloysius. (27 June 2017). "Qualcomm's Snapdragon 450 makes $200 phones faster, last longer".
79. (21 February 2017). "Qualcomm's New Modem can Beat 1 Gigabit Speeds, in Theory".
80. Ngo, Dong. (13 February 2017). "With Qualcomm's new 802.11ax chips, the future of Wi-Fi is here".
81. Cutress, Ian. "Qualcomm Tech Summit, Day 3: Snapdragon 8cx, the New ACPC SoC".
82. "Snapdragon 8cx - Qualcomm - WikiChip".
83. "Snapdragon 855 - Qualcomm - WikiChip".
84. (13 September 2023). "Man Utd name U.S. Tech brand as shirt sponsor".