Is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 SoC a big headache for everyone involved, or is the next-gen chip going to help supercharge 2015’s smartphone lineup? Despite all the potential that appears to be there, the introduction of the 810 to consumer devices has been plagued by reports of hardware problems, incomplete software, and delays that would push back broad availability. Qualcomm’s been doing its darnedest to downplay such allegations, but they’ve continued regardless. This week saw the launch of the newest Snapdragon 810-powered handset, the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro; does that mean that these delays aren’t happening? According to the latest analyst reports, while the 810 may still have a few issues, that’s not going to stop the chip’s rollout, and the SoC appears to already be in mass production.
While acknowledging that 810 hardware issues likely exist, this report suggests that OEMs are embracing the chip all the same, and that a little unwanted heat or excessive power consumption can’t derail the 810’s allure.
The most recent delay rumors suggested Qualcomm was working to correct some of those problems, and that this might see mass production of the 810 pushed back to late spring. Qualcomm is still expected to try and tackle some of the 810’s faults with a revised design, but this report takes the stance that the current 810 is still good enough for commercial purposes, and that production is in full swing, despite a refined design coming soon.
What this situation spells for high-profile launches like the Galaxy S6 or HTC One M9 remains to be seen, but rumors that those manufacturers may be forced to seek out alternative SoCs (even if, for Samsung, that just means placing a greater emphasis on its own Exynos chips) might no longer play out as once thought.
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