Qualcomm has launched a new version of its flagship Snapdragon 820 chip at the Consumer Electronics Show 2016, the Snapdragon 820A is meant for the automotive industry, and with smart and connected car platforms gaining popularity hardware manufacturers will certainly welcome the enhanced performance that Qualcomm chips bring. Qualcomm’s previous automotive chip was the Snapdragon 602A which was announced back in 2014.
All of the power of the Snapdragon 820 chip is onboard, there’s the 64-bit Kryo CPU and Adreno 530 GPU, and LTE speeds of up to 600 Mbps are promised. Car manufacturers will also be able to access the Snapdragon 820’s machine intelligence functionality to build their infotainment and navigation products.
Even though it has unveiled a new chip for automobiles Qualcomm will not discontinue the 602A immediately, despite the fact that the new one offers more power, compatibility with more sensors and improved connectivity. Audi is actually going to use the Snapdragon 602A chip in its 2017 lineup.
Snapdragon 820A is going to have support for popular platforms like Android Auto, Car Play and QNX. Qualcomm points out that manufacturers will be able to send out updates for their platforms over the air. The company is going to start sending hardware samples to manufacturers in the first quarter which is why it’s a safe bet to assume that the Snapdragon 820A will not arrive in cars before the end of this year.