Snapdragon 855. That’s the name of Qualcomm’s new flagship processor for mobile phones, the company just announced at its Snapdragon Technology Summit in Hawaii.
Qualcomm launched its predecessor, the Snapdragon 845, at the same conference almost exactly one year ago. But the new 855 isn’t just another spec bump. It’s the chip that will almost certainly appear in the first wave of 5G phones.
Qualcomm has said this new platform will support “multi-gigabit” download speeds on 5G networks.
This year’s Snapdragon Technology Summit is also one of the last major milestones before blazing-fast 5G cellular networks launch in the United States for real, and both AT&T and Verizon are here with real 5G devices for us to try at the Grand Wailea hotel in Maui.
That’s a first since most previous 5G demos were theoretical, behind closed doors, or experiential demos that didn’t use devices that real people will be able to buy.
