Snapdragon 835 vs Snapdragon 845 features comparison

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

	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