Are you looking for always-on laptops with Snapdragon 850? If you are looking at the future of Windows 10 devices, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 should be a clear answer. The tech is not entirely new, since the Snapdragon 835 has already been powering the Windows 10 laptops, but the experience has not been quite impressive in many cases. The primary disappointment was its performance. The Snapdragon 850 is expected to change it for the better. Lets us go through an overview of Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 and laptops powered by the processor in today’s post.
Related: Laptops with Snapdragon 835
Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 – A Concise Review
| Features / Particulars | Snapdragon 845
| Snapdragon 850
|
| Modem Used | Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X20 LTE modem Dual SIM Dual VoLTE | Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X20 LTE modem Dual SIM Dual VoLTE |
| Peak Download Speeds | 1.2 Gbps LTE Category 18 | 1.2 Gbps LTE Category 18 5 x 20 MHz carrier aggregation 4×4 MIMO on three carrier 12 spatial streams (Max) QAM: 256 |
| Peak Upload Speed | 150 Mbps LTE Category 13 | 150 Mbps LTE Category 13 |
| CPU | Qualcomm® Kryo™ 385 CPU Octa-Core 64 Bit Processor | Qualcomm® Kryo™ 385 built on Arm® Cortex™ technology Octa-Core 64 Bit Processor |
| CPU Clock Speed | 2.8 GHz | 2.96 GHz |
| Number of cores | 8x Kryo 385 CPU | 8 x Kryo 385 CPU |
| Graphics Unit | Qualcomm® Adreno™ 630 GPU | Qualcomm® Adreno™ 630 Visual Processing Subsystem |
| Digital Processing | Qualcomm® Hexagon™ 685 DSP | Qualcomm® Hexagon™ 685 DSP |
| Camera Processor | Qualcomm® Spectra™ 280 Image Signal Processor Dual 14-bit ISPs | Qualcomm Spectra™ 280 Image Signal Processor Dual 14-bit ISPs Up to 16 MP dual camera or Up to 32 MP single camera |
| WiFi | Qualcomm® Wi-Fi 802.11ad Multi-gigabit + a/b/g/ac | Qualcomm® Wi-Fi 802.11ad Multi-gigabit + a/b/g/ac |
| Bluetooth | Version 5 | Version 5 |
| Charging | Qualcomm Quick Charge 4 technology | Qualcomm® Quick Charge™ 4+ technology |
| Security | Qualcomm® Secure Processing Unit (SPU)Qualcomm® Processor Security Qualcomm® Mobile Security Qualcomm® Content Protection | Qualcomm® Processor SecurityQualcomm® Mobile Security Qualcomm® Content Protection |
Qualcomm has been looking ahead to powering the Windows 10 PCs and laptops. The first generation of Always On laptops featured the Snapdragon 835. However, the performance was not quite much impressive. The laptops were found to be quite sluggish with their performance even for handling lighter activities.
Snapdragon 850 is expected to provide around 30 percent of performance boost when compared to its predecessor in this genre, the Snapdragon 835. This is made possible thanks to higher 2.96 GHz clock speed offered by the new processor from Qualcomm. It may not be possible to check the performance as of now because there are not many devices currently available with the Snapdragon 850. There is currently only one device (more to follow) that has been launched with the new Snapdragon 850 processor.
If you are a gamer, the Snapdragon 850 powered devices may not be the right option for you. They are designed for those who are looking for a good deal of web browsing, a bit of binge watching and of course, a good battery life.
And that brings us to the battery power. The Snapdragon 850 devices are stated to provide you access to around 25 hours of battery backup. What makes the chipsets specifically designed for PCs and laptops different from the conventional processors. Not much. Since they will be used on larger devices, you will find them running at a higher clock speeds and the low TDP ensures lack of overheating. In fact, since the processor has a larger space on a laptop body, the heat dissipation would be extremely easy and simple.
With that information on the background, let us explore a few laptops that are powered by Snapdragon 850. Snapdragon has been building chips specifically designed for the various vertical integration. The prominent examples here can be the chipsets designed for the Internet of things and VR headsets.
Best Laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon 850
To begin with, there are not many options available with the Snapdragon 850 as of now. There are a few being announced and can expect them quite soon. We will check some of them here.
Lenovo Yoga C630
This is the Industry’s first laptop to feature the Snapdragon 850 processor. Please note that the laptop carries a label a little different from its range of laptops – Yoga C630 WOS. WOS stands for Windows On Snapdragon.
The laptop comes with a convertible design and a 13 inch size at that. You have access to a full size keyboard, a responsive and wider trackpad and a pair of sturdy hinges. Being a convertible device, you need powerful hinges that do not a give away. You can expect the best looks found on the Yoga line up of premium laptops from Lenovo.
The battery, as already featured above, should provide you with a battery backup of about 25 hours on a continuous video playback. In sharp contrast to Snapdragon 835, a slew of apps was found to be working quite efficiently. It provides you access to the Always On functionality. That means you will find your laptop waking up almost instantly. In fact, users have been claiming that the laptop is faster than most of the laptops launched in 2018.
Two USB Type C ports and access to SIM card slot are the other two exceptional features you would love on the new Lenovo Yoga C630 WOS.
Huawei Matebook E 2019
The next one, the Huawei Matebook E 2019 is ready to launch with the Snapdragon 850. Like Lenovo Yoga C630, this is yet another options in the 2 in 1 laptop. It is equipped with a 12 inch display and a 2160 x 1400 pixels resolution.
The touchpad is quite larger enough and also comes with an NFC chip for an enhanced performance. The laptop is powered by Snapdragon 850 and is accompanied with a 4 or 8 GB RAM capacity. You also have access to 128 or 256 GB of USF NAND flash storage.
Like Yoga offering outlined here, you get access to eSIM compatibility on your device. The laptop also comes with a USB Type-C connector, a fingerprint reader, two stereo speakers, and a 3.5-mm TRRS audio jack. The built-in 36.3 Wh battery comes with a backup of around 20 hours.
Any other devices with Snapdragon 850?
Well, we were expecting partner manufacturers like Asus and HP too launch their own laptops with the Snapdragon 850. However, it appears as if it will take a while before the devices come with the Snapdragon 850 processor.
The processor is designed for the convertible laptops. In fact, the new generation of the laptop users are more focussed on the convertibility options; the new processor should indeed be one of the best options. The fact that Qualcomm has been successful in providing you with an enhanced performance in comparison to the older Snapdragon 835 should make it an excellent option in every right.
Even Samsung has announced that they will be launching 2 in 1 PCs powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 SoC. However, it has not announced any specific time frame for the launch as yet.
The Concluding Thoughts
The Snapdragon 850 is indeed an upgrade to the Snapdragon 835. It takes the lead in enhancing the performance of the Windows PCs and laptops. However, we have not found many devices powered by the new mobile PC processor. With the impending launch of Huawei convertible laptop soon, we would expect the launch of convertibles from other partner manufacturers as well the following suit.
If we come across any launches among laptops powered by Snapdragon 850, we will update the post with the relevant details. Till then, we will keep speculating.
