Snapdragon (system on chip)

Qualcomm Snapdragon Logo

Snapdragon is a family of mobile system on chips by Qualcomm. Qualcomm considers Snapdragon a "platform" for use in smartphones, tablets, and smartbook devices.

The Snapdragon CPU, dubbed Krait, is Qualcomm's own design. It has many features similar to those of the ARM Cortex-A8 core and it is based on the ARM v7 instruction set, but theoretically has much higher performance for multimedia-related SIMD operations.

As of 2011, these chipsets utilize 28nm technology.

All Snapdragon processors contain the circuitry to decode high-definition video (HD) resolution at 720p or 1080p depending on the Snapdragon chipset. Adreno, the company's proprietary GPU technology, integrated into Snapdragon chipsets (and certain other Qualcomm chipsets) is Qualcomm's own design, using assets the company acquired from AMD.

Snapdragon chipsets, as of 2011, include a CPU "Krait" (with speeds up to 2.5 Ghz), GPU "Adreno 225", 2G/3G/4G modem, and several Hexagon DSP coprocessors.

History

• Q4 2008

• The first chipsets in the Snapdragon family, the QSD8650 and the QSD8250, were made available.

• June 2009

• Qualcomm presented the Compal smartbook and ASUS Eee PC‎ at Computex using the Snapdragon SoC and running Google's Android operating system. At the same event, ASUS also showed a Snapdragon-based device, then withdrew it abruptly.

• December 7, 2009

• The LG eXpo was the first US phone to utilize the Snapdragon SoC.

• January 5, 2010

• The Nexus One was released, manufactured by HTC, and featured Android OS 2.1 powered by a Snapdragon running at 1 GHz (Qualcomm QSD8250).

• April 29, 2010

• The HTC Droid Incredible was released, using the Snapdragon QSD8650 1 GHz SoC, and was the first Snapdragon device available on the Verizon Wireless network.

• June 1, 2010

• Qualcomm announced sampling of the MSM8x60 series of Snapdragon SoC's.

• June 4, 2010

• The HTC EVO 4G was released, using the Snapdragon QSD8650 1 GHz SoC, and was available on the Sprint network. The HTC EVO 4G was the United States' first WiMAX phone.

• October 22, 2010

• The HTC Desire HD is released, featuring the MSM8255 SoC with Adreno 205 GPU.^{[citation needed]}

• November 17, 2010

• Qualcomm announces the roadmap for Next-Gen Snapdragon SoC development, including the MSM8960, citing future improvements in CPU and GPU performance and lower power consumption

• January 5, 2011

• A version of Microsoft Windows compiled for ARM is shown running on the Snapdragon SoC at CES 2011.

• February 13, 2011

• The HTC Inspire 4G is released, featuring the MSM8255 SoC.

• March 21, 2011

The HTC EVO 3D features the MSM8660 Dual-Core SoC with Adreno 220 GPU.

The HTC Thunderbolt features the MSM8655 SoC.

• August 3, 2011

Qualcomm announces plan to use simple names (S1, S2, S3 and S4) for Snapdragon processors so that the public can better understand the products. The bigger the number is, the more advanced functions that the processor has, which means S4 can perform better than S3.

Current and future specifications

Family / generation	Model Number	Process	CPU Instruction Set	CPU	CPU Cache	GPU	Memory Technology	Wireless Radio Technologies	Sampling Availability	Utilizing Devices
Snapdragon S1	QSD8250	65 nm	ARMv7	1 GHz Scorpion		Adreno 200		GSM (GPRS, EDGE), UMTS/WCDMA (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS	Q4 2008	Acer Stream/Liquid, Acer neoTouch S200, Dell Venue Pro (Lightning), Dell Streak, Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile REGZA Phone T-01C, HP Compaq AirLife 100, HTC Desire, HTC HD2, HTC 7 Mozart, HTC 7 Surround, HTC 7 Trophy, HTC HD7, HTC 7 Pro, Nexus One, Huawei SmaKit S7, Lenovo LePhone, LG eXpo, LG Optimus Q, LG Optimus Z, LG Quantum, LG Panther, Pantech IM-A600S, Pantech IM-A650S, Sharp LYNX SH-10B, Sharp LYNX 3D SH-03C, Samsung Focus, Samsung Omnia 7, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, Toshiba dynapocket T-01B/KG01, Toshiba TG01/TG02/TG03.
	QSD8650	65 nm	ARMv7	1 GHz Scorpion		Adreno 200		GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A)	Q4 2008	Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile REGZA Phone IS04(TSI04), Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile T006 (TS006)/iida X-Ray (TSX06), HTC Arrive, HTC Droid Incredible, HTC Evo 4G, LG Apollo GW990, LG Fathom VS750, LG GW820 eXpo, LG GW825 IQ, LG Optimus 7, Sharp IS01 (SHI01)/IS03 (SHI03), Sony Ericsson S004 (SO004)/S005 (SO005)/S006 (SO006)/iida G11 (SOX02)/S007 (SO007), Toshiba dynapocket IS02 (TSI01)/K01, Toshiba T004 (TS004), Pantech Sirius α IS06 (PTI06), Kyocera Echo, Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile T007 (TS007), Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile T008 (TS008), NEC Casio CA007, Kyocera K009 (KY009), Fujitsu F001 (FJ001), Sony Ericsson Arbano Affare (SOY05)
	QSD8250A	45 nm	ARMv7	1.3 GHz Scorpion		Adreno 205		GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS	Q4 2009
	QSD8650A	45 nm	ARMv7	1.3 GHz Scorpion		Adreno 205		GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A)	Q4 2009	Lenovo LePad
	MSM7225A	45 nm	ARMv7	600 MHz CortexA5		Adreno 200 (enhanced)		GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS	Q4 2011	HTC Explorer
	MSM7625A	45 nm	ARMv7	800 MHz CortexA5		Adreno 200 (enhanced)		GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A)	Q4 2011
	MSM7227A	45 nm	ARMv7	800 MHz CortexA5		Adreno 200 (enhanced)		GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS	Q4 2011	Motorola XT615
	MSM7627A	45 nm	ARMv7	800 MHz CortexA5		Adreno 200 (enhanced)		GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA), MBMS, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A)	Q4 2011
Snapdragon S2	MSM7230	45 nm	ARMv7	800 MHz Scorpion		Adreno 205		GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS	Q2 2010	Acer Liquid Metal, HP Veer, HTC Desire Z, Huawei U8800, NEC Casio Medias N-04C
	MSM7630	45 nm	ARMv7	800 MHz Scorpion		Adreno 205		GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A, SV-DO)	Q2 2010	Casio G'zOne Commando, HTC Evo Shift 4G, HTC Merge
	MSM8255	45 nm	ARMv7	1 GHz Scorpion		Adreno 205	Dual-channel 333 MHz LPDDR2	GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS	Q2 2010	Acer Iconia Smart, Acer Allegro, BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930, BlackBerry Torch 9810, BlackBerry Torch 9860, Fujitsu F-12C, HTC Desire HD, HTC Desire S, HTC Incredible S, HTC Inspire 4G, HTC Radar, Huawei U9000 Ideos X6, Huawei Vision, Samsung Exhibit II 4G, Sharp Galapagos 003SH/005SH, Sharp Aquos Phone f (SH-13C), Sharp Aquos Phone the Hybrid (007SH/007SH J), Sharp Aquos Phone the Premium (009SH), Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman, Sony Ericsson Xperia Active, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, Sony Ericsson Xperia Acro (SO-02C), Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo, Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro, Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini, Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro, Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, T-Mobile myTouch 4G, [[[ZTE Tania]], ZTE 008Z
	MSM8655	45 nm	ARMv7	1 GHz Scorpion		Adreno 205	Dual-channel 333 MHz LPDDR2	GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B)	Q2 2010	Fujitsu Toshiba IS12T, HTC Thunderbolt, HTC Droid Incredible 2 [1], LG Revolution, Motorola Triumph, Pantech Mirach IS11PT, Samsung Conquer 4G, Sharp IS05 (SHI05), Sony Ericsson Xperia Acro (IS11S)
	MSM8255T	45 nm	ARMv7	1.4-1.5 GHz Scorpion		Adreno 205	Dual-channel 333 MHz LPDDR2	GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS	2011	HP Pre 3, HTC Flyer, HTC Titan, HTC Titan II, Nokia Lumia 710, Nokia Lumia 800, Samsung Focus Flash, Samsung Focus S, Samsung Galaxy S Plus [2], Samsung Galaxy W, Samsung Omnia W, Sharp Aquos Phone SH-12C [3], Sharp Aquos Phone 006SH, Sony Xperia arc S,
	MSM8655T	45 nm	ARMv7	1.4-1.5 GHz Scorpion		Adreno 205	Dual-channel 333 MHz LPDDR2	GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B)	2011	HP Pre 3, Kyosera Digno ISW11K, NEC Casio Medias BR IS11N, Sharp Aquos Phone IS11SH, Sharp Aquos Phone IS12SH, Sharp Aquos Phone IS13SH, Toshiba REGZA Phone IS11T
Snapdragon S3	APQ8060	45 nm	ARMv7	1.2-1.5 GHz Dual-core Scorpion	L2: 512 kB	Adreno 220	Single-channel 333 MHz ISM/266 MHz LPDDR2	Connectivity features not included	2011	HP TouchPad, HTC Jetstream, HTC Vivid, LG Nitro HD, T-Mobile Galaxy S II, Samsung Galaxy S II LTE, Samsung Galaxy Note LTE(AT&T)
	MSM8260	45 nm	ARMv7	1.2-1.5 GHz Dual-core Scorpion		Adreno 220	Single-channel 333 MHz ISM/266 MHz LPDDR2	GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS	Q3 2010	ASUS Eee Pad Memo, HTC Amaze 4G, HTC Evo 3D (GSM), HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation XE, Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket, Sony Xperia Ion, Sony Xperia S, T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide, Xiaomi MI-One, ZTE V71A
	MSM8660	45 nm	ARMv7	1.2-1.5 GHz Dual-core Scorpion		Adreno 220	Single-channel 333 MHz ISM/266 MHz LPDDR2	GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A)	Q3 2010	HTC Evo 3D (CDMA), HTC Rezound, LG Optimus LTE LU6200, Pantech Vega Racer
	QSD8672	45 nm	ARMv7	1.5 GHz Dual-core Scorpion		Adreno 220		GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+), MBMS, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A)	originally Q1 2010; cancelled
Snapdragon S4	APQ8064	28 nm	ARMv7	2.5 GHz Quad-core Krait		Adreno 320		Connectivity features not included	2012
	MSM8960	28 nm	ARMv7	1.5-1.7 GHz Dual-core Krait	L2: 1 MB	Adreno 225	Dual-channel 500 MHz LPDDR2	GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ cat.29), MBMS, LTE cat.3, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A), TD-SCDMA	Q4 2011
	MSM8270	28 nm	ARMv7	1.5-1.7 GHz Dual-core Krait	L2: 1 MB	Adreno 225	Dual-channel 500 MHz LPDDR2	GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, DC-HSPA cat.21), MBMS	Q4 2011
	MSM8230	28 nm	ARMv7	1.0-1.2 GHz Dual-core Krait	L2: 1 MB	Adreno 305	Single-channel 533 MHz LPDDR2	GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+ cat.14), MBMS	Q3 2012
	MSM8260A	28 nm	ARMv7	1.5-1.7 GHz Dual-core Krait	L2: 1 MB	Adreno 225	Dual-channel 500 MHz LPDDR2	GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+ cat.14), MBMS, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A), TD-SCDMA	Q4 2011
	MSM8660A
	MSM8630
	MSM8627
	MSM8227
	APQ8060A
	APQ8030
Snapdragon ??	MSM8930	28 nm	ARMv7	1.0-1.2 GHz Single-core Krait	L2: 1 MB	Adreno 305	Single-channel 533 MHz LPDDR2	GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ cat.29), MBMS, LTE cat.2, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A), TD-SCDMA	Q3 2012
	MSM8974	28 nm	ARMv7	2.0-2.5 GHz Quad-core Krait	L2: 2 MB	Adreno 320	Dual-channel 667/800 MHz LPDDR3	GSM (GPRS, EDGE), W-CDMA/UMTS (HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ cat.29), MBMS, LTE cat.4, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO Rel.0/Rev.A/Rev.B, 1xEV-DO MC Rev.A, 1xAdv Rev.A/Rev.B), TD-SCDMA	Q1 2013

Some Snapdragon designs like QSD8672 were announced but have never made it into production and were superseded by a newer generation of chips.

Similar platforms

• OMAP by Texas Instruments
• Tegra by Nvidia
• Exynos by Samsung
• Ax by Apple
• NovaThor by ST-Ericsson

See also

• Qualcomm MSM7000
• Smartbook, a new netbook-like class of devices, first models of which are powered by Snapdragon
• PXA by Marvell
• i.MX by Freescale
• SH-Mobile by Renesas
• Nomadik (discontinued) by ST-Ericsson
• ZiiLabs ZMS series
• Snapdragon Stadium, temporary name used for Qualcomm Stadium in December 2011

External links

• Snapdragon Chipset Product Page