Snapdragon 835 vs Snapdragon 845 features comparison

by Daniel Petrov / Dec 08, 2017, 7:45 AM

From faster performance to more advanced graphics, and everything in-between, the current crop of Android's finest handsets will soon face their challengers from the next edition of flagships with Snapdragon 845 chipsets. First in line is, needless to say, the processor's foundry masters from Samsung, with its Galaxy S9, but Xiaomi, LG, and others, will certainly be lining up soon thereafter.

So, what are the advantages that Snapdragon 845 alone will sport that could make you switch from your trusted Galaxy S8, LG V30, Xiaomi Mi 6, or even the OnePlus 5T, all of which have Snapdragon 835 chippery inside? We've rounded up the new and improved features that Qualcomm's 845 edition brings to the table, compared to the current 835 darling in those phones.

We'll leave it to you to decide whether a jump is worth it, given that there is no production node improvement, and both chips are done at 10nm, albeit with the second generation of theprocess that is always the more refined, and offers higher performance with a lower power draw.

Qualcomm claims that "our new Spectra camera and Adreno graphics architectures boost power efficiency by up to 30 percent compared to our previous generations," so we should notice significant battery savings when performing graphics-intensive tasks or video capture with Snapdragon 845 devices compared to 835 gear.

	Snapdragon 845	Snapdragon 835
Production process	Second-gen 10nm (LPP)	First-gen 10nm (LPE)
Processor cores	4x Kryo 385 @ 2.8GHz (custom Cortex-A75) + 4x Kryo 385 @ 1.8GHz (custom Cortex-A55)	4x Kryo 280 @ 2.45GHz + 4x Kryo 280 @ 1.90GHz
GPU	Adreno 630, 2x 2400x2400 @ 120 FPS (VR), physical object detection during VR sessions	Adreno 540
Modem	Snapdragon X20 LTE (5xCA) (download: Cat 18, up to 1200 Mbit/s; upload: Cat 13, up to 150 Mbit/s), 4x4 MIMO	Snapdragon X16 LTE (4xCA) (download: Cat 16, up to 1000 Mbit/s; upload: Cat 13, up to 150 Mbit/s)
AI co-processing	Yes, Hexagon 685	Yes, Hexagon 682
Video encode	4K HDR at 60fps	4K at 30fps
Image signal processing	Qualcomm Spectra 280, support for 16MP image sensor operating up to 60 frames per second	Qualcomm Spectra 180
Security	Secure Processing Unit (SPU) isolated subsystem	Qualcomm Processor Security
Misc.	Quick Charge 4+ Dual SIM dual VoLTE support Multi-frame Noise Reduction (MFNR) Slow Motion video capture (720p@480fps)	Quick Charge 4

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21 Comments

1. iczer

Posts: 157; Member since: Oct 14, 2015

Wow! it looks like a nice upgrade!!

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 7:59 AM 4

8. sgodsell

Posts: 7187; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

So two 2400x2400 resolution displays at 120 fps. The vast majority of smartphones are only going to use one display ever. But simultaneously the SD 845 can also track things or objects in front of the VR/AR/MR headsets cameras to maintain that 120 fps. So this will be a wicked chip for VR/AR/MR. Or in other words we will see a lot more 4k displays placed in smartphones. Wicked times ahead.

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 9:09 AM 3

12. piyath

Posts: 2445; Member since: Mar 23, 2012

I saw some numbers here and there and is it suppose to mean something....lol Kryo 280 Vs 385 Adreno 540 Vs 630 Qualcomm spectro 180 Vs 280 Hexagon 682 Vs 685.................LOL What are these??? LMAO At least I know LTE speeds are gonna be 200 Mbps higher than the predecessor.

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 11:17 AM 0

19. sme4192

Posts: 21; Member since: Nov 30, 2017

kryo is semi-custom cpu architect that 25-30% improved adreno is gpu that 30% in average improved both cpu and gpu was 30 efficiency improved spectro is isp that now can 4k@60fps shooting video hexagon for al and machin learning and now 3× improved campare 835

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 1:23 PM 0

2. Hollowmost

Posts: 421; Member since: Oct 10, 2017

Seeing apple A11 gpu is roughly 40% faster than adreno 540 ... Can't wait how adreno 630 will perform ...

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 8:37 AM 0

5. Boast_Rider

Posts: 534; Member since: Sep 14, 2017

Traditionally, adreno has never been the benchmark breaker, but over a long run, it throttles the least. The A11 GPU throttles almost immediately after the first run, and throttles hard. It's good for bursty workloads, but Apple can't match Qualcomm in GPU quite yet.

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 8:51 AM 8

10. sgodsell

Let's see the A11 maintain a VR/AR/MR headset. Oh wait, that's right Apple doesn't support that stuff yet with it's A11 SoC. Even the 835, wait all the way back to the SD 820 it can maintain a VR/AR headset. The SD 835 was the first to be used on VR/AR/MR headsets with camera tracking as well from the one SoC. The A11 would throttle down and die. Where as the current SD 835 can maintain a VR headset with a resolution of 2960x1440 at 75 fps, and perform 6 degrees of freedom using cameras embedded on a VR/AR/MR headset today. The A11 just cannot do that.

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 9:17 AM 6

13. piyath

Huh Nice analysis dude... A11 will crush this adreno crap as it does every year....LOL Wait and see. Bursty workloads?? Really dude?? Quit lying and do something useful, Go!

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 11:19 AM 0

17. Nopers unregistered

To be fair this is Apples first attempt at a GPU after their divorce from Imagination tech. Benchmarks don't exactly translate to performance, it's too wishy washy with cross platform gaming because different API's, developers and architecture. Benchmarks aren't so different cross platform meaning the GPU will definitely be run at full tilt for the duration of the benchmark.

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 1:14 PM 0

3. Furkan

Posts: 552; Member since: Feb 25, 2017

where is qc 5 -_-

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 8:43 AM 0

6. Hollowmost

Wait OEM to first adopt qc4 ...

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 8:58 AM 0

4. JMartin22

Posts: 2369; Member since: Apr 30, 2013

When is Samsung going to stop using Quick Charge 2.0 and move up to the current standard. I understand they want to keep their own Adaptive Fast Charging technique on parity with the Snapdragon variant, but if they haven’t figured out a method to bring the former up to par, they should just stop restricting access to SoC’s true potential

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 8:43 AM 5

7. Panzer

Posts: 282; Member since: May 13, 2016

If I recall correctly Samsung uses that standard as it compatible with QI and I believe PMA standards. Although QI has become the standard at one point I there was 4 standards floating around. Which I see no reason to change as my Note 8 and S8 charge plenty fast if I choose to fast charge.

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 9:06 AM 1

9. Nexus4lifes

Posts: 290; Member since: Feb 13, 2014

Love to try that 720@480fps

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 9:12 AM 1

11. trqster

Posts: 176; Member since: May 17, 2013

We've reached the point where the SOC only gives marginal improvements each iteration.. Just for kicks did a speed comparison between my snapdragon OnePlus 5T and a friends OnePlus 3 snapdagon powered 820 and in app loading it was basically the same...

posted on Dec 08, 2017, 9:57 AM 0

14. deleon629

Posts: 451; Member since: Oct 04, 2014

This is great, but why hasn’t anyone considered that there have been no projections of what the battery life would be like? Android and Snapdragon SoC collabs always look great on paper...until someone actually has to use the damn thing and it’s “lag-city” til the next biggest/best thing (no reference to the Galaxy S line; okay, maybe so) and we run into the exact same problem again