PC World - USA (2021-01)

JANUARY 2021 PCWorld 21

@10-bit, H.265/
VP9 hardware
decoder
Spectra 580
ISP: 200MP still
images (84MP/30
fps, single camera;
64MP +
25MP/30fps,
dual-camera;
28MP/30 fps, triple
camera); 8K video
capture@30 fps; 4K
video capture +
64MP photo; slow-mo 720p @ 960fps
Hexagon 780: Total Harmonic
Distortion + Noise (THD+N) Playback: -108dB
Connectivity (5G): integrated X60 5G
modem (7.5Gbps down, 3Gbps up, via 5G);
mmWave (800MHz bandwidth, 2x2 MIMO),
Sub-6GHz (200MHz bandwidth, 4x4 MIMO);
LTE support (CBRS, WCDMA, HSPA,
TD-SCDMA, CDMA 1x, EV-DO, GSM/EDGE)
Connectivity (Wi-Fi): FastConnect
6900 (Wi-Fi 6e/802.11ax, 802.11ac), 3.6
Gbps peak speeds, 4K QAM, OFDMA;
MU-MIMO (up to 8x8 MU-MIMO)
Connectivity (Bluetooth): Bluetooth
5.2, with support for Qualcomm aptX voice
specifications
Qualcomm Sensing Hub (2nd gen):
Always-on far-field detection and echo
cancellation; support for multiple voice assistants
Power: Quick Charge 5; supports

100W chargers, can charge to 50% in 5 minutes

SECURITY

Unlike with the Snapdragon Compute chips

for Windows on Arm, the Kryo 680 CPU at the

heart of the Snapdragon series has never

been top-of-mind for smartphone buyers,

mobile gamers excluded. With the

Snapdragon 888, however, there are two key

features: a new ability to sandbox apps within

virtualization, and a CAI-qualified camera.

Virtualization allows your smartphone to

function as both a work device and as a personal

device, with specific versions of the Android OS

for both. (Samsung’s Knox has something like

this already.) It also allows micro-OS’s for specific

apps like wireless payments, explained Ziad

Asghar, vice president of product management

for Qualcomm.

Snapdragon 888 smartphones have also

The Snapdragon 888 can use virtualization to sandbox an potentially malicious

app...or just wall off your work documents from your personal photos.