Qualcomm has been an indirect player in the smartphone market detecting new trends and starting revolutions. Now, the company wants to be more than an “indirect” player and wants to take part in the game. The company is now entering the smartphone market with a very unconventional, but promising smartphone. Today, the company is unveiling a new smartphone dubbed “Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders”. Qualcomm, apparently, isn’t very concerned with such a mouthful name. As the name suggests, this isn’t a device for regular users but for enthusiasts of technology and, in special, Qualcomm Snapdragon chips.
As expected, the Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders comes with all technology Qualcomm has to offer. That includes Snapdragon Sound, Elite Gaming, and more. The device comes to give users an experience of the chipmaker’s cutting-edge technologies. So it’s not really a smartphone for mass-market, but for enthusiasts.
Qualcomm Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders specifications
The Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders has been designed by ASUS. Apparently, this is the rumored gaming phone in development by both companies. Under the hood, it carries the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and there isn’t a surprise on that. It’s a pity that it will be outdated as soon as the Snapdragon 888 Plus reaches the market. Anyway, the handset carries 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512 GB of UFS 3.1 storage. It draws power from a 4,000mAh battery which is quite small for today’s standards. Thankfully, it offers support for 65W Quick Charge 5 charging speeds. However, the company only offers a 35W power adapter inside the box.
The design brings a few aspects of the ROG Phone 5. That includes a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate and a Full HD+ resolution. According to Qualcomm, the panel offers 800 nits of brightness with HDR10 and HDR10+ certification. It also has Corning Gorilla Glass Victus in tow.
Cameras, 5G and Hi-Res Audio
In terms of optics, the device offers a Triple-camera setup. It has a Sony IMX686 64 MP primary camera, a 12 MP ultrawide lens, and an 8 MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. On the front, we have a 24 MP camera for selfies and video calls. The handset offers a physical rear-mounted fingerprint scanner using Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic Sensor Gen2, which again is a showcase of the tech for the masses, considering no other OEM bothered to go back to using physical sensors.
Qualcomm claimed the phone offers the most comprehensive 5G support including all bands covering sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G. As we mentioned above, this is the first smartphone to offer Snapdragon Sound certification, which means you can stream 24-bit 96KHz audio wirelessly and listen to in-game audio without lags wirelessly. The box will contain a pair of premium active-noise canceling TWS earbuds by Master & Dynamic.
The device certainly has an appeal for gamers, but considering its price users in the gaming range tend to pick any of the available gaming smartphones. Another interesting feature is the Hi-Res appeal with Snapdragon Sound. This certification requires a lot of specific audio-enhancements features. Now that LG is out of the race, it’s hard to find companies betting in the audio experience. Although the device is promising, its price certainly is hard to digest. For that reason, we believe that it will not reach users outside of the “Snapdragon Enthusiasts” gang.
Pricing & Availability
Qualcomm’s first commercially available smartphone will be priced at $1499. That is more than the iPhone 12 Pro Max. For the price, the phone brings more things than other phones in the market. That includes a Master & Dynamic MW08SI ANC TWS Earbuds, 35W Quick Charge 5 chargers, a rubber bumper case, and a braided USB-C cable.
