Qualcomm is already expected to roll out Snapdragon 775 mid-range 5nm SoC and also a Snapdragon 888 alternative without the 5G modem this year. Latest leak suggests, the chip manufacturer is also planning a successor to the flagship Snapdragon 888, which would not be launched before the end of 2021. According to early information, the chipset with model number SM8450 is under development, which is hypothetically the next-gen, high-end Snapdragon processor.
According to WinFuture, that has acquired the first information about the under development processor SM8450; the upcoming processor will be successor to the Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 SoC, which was initially codenamed “Lahaina.” The next flagship processor in the works is codenamed “Waipio” the leaker informs.
The name “Waipio” is presumably derived from “Waipiʻo” valley in Hawaiian island, which means “curved water”. Qualcomm has recently been naming its products after Hawaiian locations and SM8450 “Waipio” is just another one in the league.
For its ability as a processor, SM8450 Waipio “developer platforms have 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS flash storage.” According to the leaker, the developer platforms show some innovations in the camera technology featuring “Leica1” camera module.
Whether this camera module hints at some sort of Qualcomm and Leica partnership, which OEMs will derive some impetus from, remains to be seen. We are expecting more information and benchmark scores of the SM8450 “Waipio” to arrive in the latter part of the year. Things will be more clearer about the upcoming processor then.
