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Qualcomm to Huawei's rescue: P50 series said to debut 4G version of the Snapdragon 888

By Martin Filipov

Published: Jun 23, 2021, 7:56 AM

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Qualcomm to Huawei's rescue: P50 series said to debut 4G version of the Snapdragon 888

At this point, the leaks and rumors about the upcoming Huawei P50 series of phones simply don't seem to end...

Just yesterday, we shared the story about the supposed launch date of the Huawei P50. We talked about how some of the models might end up shipping with Huawei's own Kirin 9000 (4G), and some might have to resort to a chip made by a former competitor - Qualcomm.

Now, information coming from MyFixGuide sheds some light, only to confirm what's been expected... with a tiny little twist. As you might know, Huawei's supplies of the Kirin 9000 (especially the 5G version) were cut short due to the US trade ban.

Is a new version of the Snapdragon 888 on the way?

It is believed that Qualcomm's developed a new version of the Snapdragon 888 flagship processor found in phones like the Galaxy S21 and OnePlus 9. This chip is said to be named "Snapdragon 888 Pro" (not to be confused with the Snapdragon 888+) and comes with 4G connectivity instead of 5G.

Huawei's in a difficult situation as the company is struggling to source enough chips for its phones, so it makes sense that this might be the processor that'll be used in the upcoming Huawei P50, P50 Pro, or even P50 Pro+. A 4G Snapdragon 888 Pro would allow Huawei and Qualcomm to circumvent the trade ban, which prohibits the supply of 5G chips with US tech.

Furthermore, to add fire to the gasoline, Honor CEO, Zhao Ming, recently revealed that the upcoming Honor Magic 3 would use a "pro" version of the Snapdragon 888. This phone is expected to come out in the third quarter of 2021.

Tipster Teme from Twitter, also teased the upcoming Honor Magic 3, with a tweet, captioned "August, Unique Design, SD888 Pro, New photography king". He also wrote: "it seems at least now that the SM8350 Pro would remain rare, just no one has bought it except Honor".

An unofficial teaser image of the upcoming Honor Magic 3.

According to some, this version of the Snapdragon 888 Pro will come with a three-cluster design - one super large core, three large cores, and four small cores. The CPU is said to be overclocked to reach 3.0GHz instead of 2.84GHz on Snapdragon 888 flagships.

All of that leads us to believe that this might very well be the "Snapdragon 888+". It's not a secret that Qualcomm usually releases two flagship chips per year. Usually, the one that comes out in the second part of the year, powering phones like the OnePlus 8T, is a slight improvement of the first one, with overclocked CPU.

Whether that's the case and Qualcomm decided to make two versions of the Snapdragon 888+ - a 5G version for phones like the OnePlus 9T, and a 4G version for phones like the Huawei P50... we can't tell just yet.

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Martin, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, brings a unique blend of humor and insight to his work. His fascination with smartphones began with a Galaxy Young and evolved through a series of trades and upgrades, making him a self-proclaimed smartphone nerd. Martin's content often combines current analysis of market trends with historical references and future predictions. Whether it's a deep dive into technical issues or a first-person commentary on industry events, Martin's articles are designed to inform and engage. His critical perspective is driven by genuine curiosity and a desire to keep readers informed, not by any corporate sponsorship.