Snapdragon 865 Will Only Be Available in the 5G Variant if Phone Makers Want the SoC in Their Next Flagship
https://wccftech.com/snapdragon-865-5g-only-variant-available/
Yesterday, Qualcomm finally took the wraps off the much-awaited Snapdragon 865. Many were expecting the flagship chipset to feature an embedded 5G modem, but that didn’t come to be. That being said, phones that will be fueled by the Snapdragon 865 will still be 5G-ready by default. The only problem is, that’s the only option they’ll have if they want to release Android-powered flagships in 2020.
While the Snapdragon 865 might not feature an embedded 5G chip like Huawei’s Kirin 990, any phone with this chip inside the hood will still offer 5G connectivity. That’s because the chip will only work with the second generation Snapdragon X55 5G modem. It cannot be paired with LTE modems like the Snapdragon X24. Thankfully, the backward compatibility of the modem means that users will still be able to connect to 4G networks.