ASUS taps Snapdragon 855+ for updated gaming phone
Qualcomm’s premium-tier Snapdragon 855 mobile platform, equipped with the company’s X50 5G modem, just got an upgrade to better support mobile gaming, extended reality, artificial intelligence and other 5G experiences, according to the company. Announced July 15, the Snapdragon 855+ brings to market an increase in core clock speed up to 2.96 GHz and a 15% increase in GPU performance.
The Snapdragon 855 platform, along with millimeter wave antenna modules and other RF front-end components developed by Qualcomm, power most all of the 5G-compatible smartphones in the market today, including Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S10 5G.
Speaking to the benefits for gamers that come with CPU and GPU upgrades, Asus announced it Snapdragon 855+ will power its ROG Phone II, a mobile device optimized for gaming with not only its specs but also accessories, including a dual-screen dock, clip-on cooling fan and connectable gaming controller. Qualcomm said it expects commercial devices based on Snapdragon 855+ to hit the market in the second half of the year.
Qualcomm’s VP of Product Management Kendar Kondap said in a statement the upgraded platform “will raise the bar for elite gamers with the increase in CPU and GPU performance and elevate experiences for 5G, gaming, AI and XR, which is something our OEM customers look to us to deliver.” He called it “our most advanced mobile platform to date.”
In addition to the X50 5G modem, 855+, like its predecessor, also features the X24 LTE modem, which is important as 5G coverage is still somewhat limited to urban cores and other early deployment locations meaning users need access to both 5G and LTE networks.
According to research from firm GlobalData, the video game industry generated $130 billion in 2018 with revenue from mobile gaming overtaking revenue from PC-and console-based gaming. The firm wrote, “Over the coming years, with the increased maturity of streaming (supported by 5G), cloud services, and mobile esports, combined with the fact that mobile platforms are close to technical parity with their PC and console rivals, more gamers will shift towards mobile gaming platforms.”
