Snapdragon is a family of semiconductor system (SoC) products for mobile devices developed and marketed by Qualcomm Technologies Inc. The Snapdragon CPU (CPU) uses the ARM RISC instruction set. A single SoC can include multiple CPU cores, Adreno Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), Snapdragon wireless modem, Hexagon Digital Signal Processor (DSP), Qualcomm Spectra Image Processor (ISP), and other software and hardware to support smartphones. GPS, camera, video, audio, gesture recognition, AI acceleration. As such, Qualcomm often refers to Snapdragon as a “mobile platform” (like the Snapdragon 865 5G Mobile Platform). Snapdragon semiconductors are integrated into devices from various systems, including Android, Windows Phone, and netbooks.  They are also used in cars, wearables, and other devices. In addition to processors, the Snapdragon portfolio includes modems, Wi-Fi chips, and mobile device charging products.

History of Qualcomm Snapdragon

Qualcomm announced the development of the Scorpion Central Processing Unit (CPU) in November 2007.  The Snapdragon SoC was announced in November 2006 and included a Scorpion processor as well as other semiconductors. It also included Qualcomm’s first dedicated digital hexadecimal processor (DSP).

According to a Qualcomm spokesman, it was called Snapdragon because Snap and Dragon looked fast and fierce. It says Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g and 802.11n technologies from Airgo will complement the Snapdragon product line.  Early versions of the Scorpion had a processor core design similar to the Cortex-A8.

Snapdragon QSD8250 was released in December 2007. It included the first 1 GHz processor for mobile phones. Qualcomm introduced its “Krait” micro-chassis in the second generation Snapdragon SoC in 2011, allowing each processor core to adjust its speed based on the device’s needs. At CES 2013, Qualcomm unveiled the first Snapdragon 800 series and renamed the previous models in the 200, 400, and 600 series, and since then, several new iterations have been introduced such as Snapdragon 805, 810, 615, and 410. Its modems were named Snapdragon in February 2015. Since 2018, Asus, HP and Lenovo have started selling Snapdragon laptops powered by Windows 10 processors under the name “Always Connected PCs”, which marks the entry into the PC market for Qualcomm and ARM engineering.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor list and specification

Snapdragon 800 Series (Flagship)

Snapdragon 700 Series (High-End)

 Snapdragon 600 Series (Mid-Range)

Snapdragon 400 Series (Low-End)