So what happens when a company well known for its processors for mobile devices releases its own mobile device? You’d think that it would be the fastest device of the time or something to that effect. But that isn’t the case with Qualcomm’s new insider smartphone. The whole premise was interesting but it seems that the actual phone isn’t really that much interesting, given its expensive $1500 price tag.
The phone was made for members of the company’s Snapdragon Insider fan community. Kind of like other insider programs that give members incentives, discounts, and other goodies. Qualcomm thought giving them a $1500 smartphone that isn’t much different from the competition was a pretty good idea. A smartphone made by them should be something that takes full advantage of the company’s chipset but it’s the same as other phones.
The case is similar to how Sony handles the camera on their devices. Even though smartphones from other OEMs use their sensors, the company’s own smartphone isn’t really that groundbreaking when it comes to their own cameras. The Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders has been developed in partnership with Asus like how the Google Nexus phones of the past used to be made by other OEMs.
Qualcomm’s new smartphone is similar to Asus’ ROG Phone 5 Ultimate. The spec sheet reads that the phone runs on Android 11 with 512 GB of storage. It has 16 GB of RAM, a 144Hz, 6.78 inch Samsung OLED display with Gorilla Glass Victus. The phone also comes with a rear fingerprint scanner that uses Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2 technology. It also supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 5.
The chipset choice is where people are going to raise an eyebrow. Despite the $1500 price tag, the Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders has a Snapdragon 888, the high-end chipset that you can find in most flagship phones from other OEMs. People were expectant that the phone would have Qualcomm’s already announced Snapdragon 888 Plus so that’s going to be disappointing for insiders who do put down the cold hard cash to get the phone.
The phone also features a triple camera setup with parts similar to other Asus phones. The main camera is a Sony IMX686 64-megapixel image sensor. The ultrawide uses an older Sony IMX363 sensor. The last camera is an 8-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and the front-facing camera is 24 megapixels.
The phone will also feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound classification which the company promises, supports hi-fi music playback at up to 24 bit 96kHz. The phone will comes with 5G support. According to Qualcomm, the phone will have “the most comprehensive support for all key 5G sub-6 and mmWavebands and combinations in a single device”.