The Snapdragon 888 is right now the de facto chip for smartphone manufacturers aiming to sell an uncompromised flagship device. However, as is the tradition with Qualcomm, a more powerful variant (not the one like Sylvie from Loki on Disney+) usually comes out towards the end of the year; examples being the Snapdragon 865 Plus and Snapdragon 855 Plus. Rumours are now ripe of a more powerful Snapdragon 888 variant.
Qualcomm could be fabricating a more powerful (read overclocked) version of the Snapdragon 888, expected to be called the Snapdragon 888 Pro. Surprisingly, the tip from well known tipster Digital Chat Station says it brings in a 4G-only modem instead of the 5G modem. Hence, the Snapdragon 888 Pro could be a more powerful version with no 5G support. Weird, right?
Snapdragon 888 to spawn more variants this year
On the other hand, a report from Android Authority mentions that other leaks hint at a Snapdragon 888 Plus with support for 5G and overclocked CPUs. No specific info is available on this one, apart from the rumour. Hence, we are unsure whether to trust this piece of information.
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It seems that Qualcomm is currently figuring out a way to make the Snapdragon 888 more accessible to phone manufacturers. The high prices has led to only a few smartphones in the world use the Snapdragon 888. In fact, more premium phones have settled for the slightly less powerful yet cheaper Snapdragon 870.
Hence, in order to ship more chips, shipping the Snapdragon 888 with a 4G-only modem could appeal to manufacturers based out of non-5G regions. This could benefit companies like Huawei, which can use this chip without facing any legal issues. Moreover, countries like India can continue to see more high-powered 4G smartphones at cost-effective prices.
There are chances that the rumoured Snapdragon 888 Plus 5G variant could be presented as the replacement of the Snapdragon 870 for next year. Qualcomm’s multi-product strategy has worked wonders for them despite chip prices skyrocketing due to the global shortage.
Currently, the most affordable smartphone with Snapdragon 888 that you can buy in India are the iQOO 7 Legend and Xiaomi Mi 11X Pro, both starting at Rs 40,000.
