Qualcomm’s new top-end Snapdragon 820 processor is slated to begin appearing in devices in the first half of 2016, giving the chip maker plenty of time to hype up its new silicon.
Qualcomm today continued building hype for the Snapdragon 820 by boasting about the chipset’s Hexagon 680 digital signal processor (DSP). The purpose of a DSP is to perform tasks that can be done faster or with less battery power than the main CPU.
The new Hexagon 680 offers a separate DSP for sensor processing, especially for always-on tasks like step counting. The DSP also aids in sensor-assist positioning for things like sharing accurate location info when your GPS signal is weak.
The other big feature of the Hexagon 680 are “Hexagon Vector eXtensions” (HVX). When paired with Qualcomm’s Spectra camera image signal processor, the HVX offers improved imaging and computer vision (like Augmented Reality). Qualcomm says that using the ISP and DSP, the Snapdragon 820 cam adaptively brighten low-light areas of both photos and videos, performing the task faster and with less power than past chipsets.
Qualcomm previously talked up the Snapdragon 820’s camera performance and its new Adreno 530 graphics processing unit. Considering the flak that Qualcomm caught for the Snapdragon 810 and allegations of it overheating, it’s no surprise to see the company hyping up the Snapdragon 820 early and often.
