Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 to boost VR/AR experience

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VR and AR has become a focus in the year of 2017. An array of VR platforms and devices were released from the past year. And 2017 seems more promising than ever before. Qualcomm, the leading processor manufacturer in the world dropped a big news. Now the next Snapdragon processor will be optimized to handle VR and AR content, dubbed Snapdragon 835.

Snapdragon has been a staple favorite for the Android handset makers. With its great performance and miniature size, Qualcomm’s flagship has become a benchmark for smartphone processors. After the release of Snapdragon 820 series, the new Snapdragon 835 comes with great performance specs. According to the news, Snapdragon 835 is 40% more efficient, 27% more powerful and 30% smaller than its previous generation.

About Snapdragon 835

At CES 2017, one of the biggest event lined up this year Qualcomm will give a glimpse of its new monster. Built with the newest Samsung 10nm manufacturing process, this new SoC has significantly greater power efficiency than the 820. The performance now is 27% better than the previous gen, which means your games will run smoother and apps faster. This is a significant development for Android handset makers, whose market demands better performance with lower battery life demand.

Snapdragon’s tryst with VR

But the most important feature is its compatibility for VR/AR content. Till now, SoCs have never really focused on this aspect primarily due to its lack of need. But since 2016, with emergence of multiple VR platforms such as Google Daydream and HTC Viveport the demand for VR devices increased. Handset makers were prompted to concentrate on making VR-compatible products, but with limited resources. Snapdragon 835 solves the problem of incompatibility very neatly. It offers 25% gains on 3D rendering which will be useful for AR/VR rendering performance.

Another interesting and newer aspect is its reduction in motion to photon latency. This is achieved “by a heterogeneous computing approach that isolates different parts of Snapdragon 835 for audio, video, and motion functions, delivering the best user experience and most efficient processing”.

Qualcomm’s development is a new leap in the VR technology. This will enable a greater flexibility of performance needed by the content developers, thus emergence of relevant content in the market. And of course, platforms like Google Daydream will get a boost in its customer base thanks to more VR compatible handsets in the market. So let us wait about greater details of this new SoC in the upcoming CES 2017.

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