Qualcomm’s lines of mobile processors, which are arguably its most prominent products, are getting rebranded. The move is aimed at making it easier for customers to easily identify where a specific chip lies in its hierarchy by a quick glance on the chip’s name. This therefore means that the Snapdragon 8xx, 7xx, 6xx etc that we currently have will be no more.
One of the most significant changes is that the company will be separating Qualcomm and the Snapdragon series. Snapdragon from now on will be a standalone premium brand. This premium brand will have the company’s best performing chips, while the Qualcomm ones will be targeting the middle range and lower-middle range market.
“We’ve separated the Qualcomm and Snapdragon brands. Going forward, Snapdragon will be a standalone product with specific ties to the Qualcomm brand where appropriate,” says Qualcomm
As well as changing the naming structure, the colours used by Snapdragon are also getting a refresh. The new colours are Gunmetal, Midnight, Nickel, Gold, and Snapdragon Red. However, the iconic “fireball” logo will be retained, with some visual enhancements being applied.
Qualcomm’s automotive portfolio will also be part of the Snapdragon brand. This will encompass the likes of Snapdragon Ride Platform and Snapdragon Digital Chassis. 5G will also be a native feature here, and as a result, the 5G moniker has been dropped from the chips’ branding to avoid repeating what is a given feature.
If this gets implemented starting with the upcoming Snapdragon 898, the chip will instead be launched as part of the Snapdragon 8 series chip, and the chip itself called the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
“A new, simplified and consistent naming structure for our platforms makes it easier for our customers to discover and choose devices powered by Snapdragon. This means our mobile platforms will transition to a single-digit series and generation number, aligning with our other product categories – starting with our newest flagship Snapdragon 8-series platform,” says Qualcomm.
The product names being shelved consisted of three numbers. Each of the numbers was intended to show where it lay in the lineup. The first digit indicated the power in comparison to the other chips with a higher number denoting more power, the second digit indicated what generation the chip was from, while the third chip differentiated different products within those generations.
While this system made sense for enthusiasts, a casual buyer would have no idea what the numbers meant. Furthermore, Snapdragon was running out of names in some line ups causing further confusion. Take Snapdragon 695, for instance, it has only space for four more chips in the lineup.
It will be interesting to see how Qualcomm handles the naming of multiple 8 series chips under the new naming scheme. The old method, for instance, allowed the release of a Snapdragon 880 and Snapdragon 870 in the same window. It is unclear how they would handle this with just one number.
According to the company, it tested out two different naming systems with over 2,000 customers. Therefore, whatever the name ends up being, it will have been deemed the best by the 2000 testers.
