Qualcomm to release $1,500 smartphone with Asus hardware | ZDNet

Qualcomm has announced it will be releasing its a new smartphone next month, calling it a “smartphone for Snapdragon insiders”.

Priced at $1,500, the device — currently without an official name — was made in partnership with Asus, which provided the hardware design for the device.

Specs-wise, the new device doesn’t have hardware specs that are markedly different from other Android flagship smartphones already released this year, coming with a 6.78-inch, 144Hz Samsung OLED panel, 512GB storage, 16GB RAM, rear fingerprint sensor, sub-6Ghz 5G capability, and Wi-Fi 6E. The battery will have 4,000mAh of power and comes with 65W charging.

The new device will also come with Android 11.

Focusing on the chipset, which is Qualcomm’s bread and butter, the upcoming smartphone will sport a Snapdragon 888 chipset. This means the device, despite being targeted towards Snapdragon users who look under the hood, will not come with the company’s latest chipset, the Snapdragon 888 Plus.

Looking at the smartphone’s cameras, it will sport a triple-camera setup on the back of the device, consisting of a 64-megapixel image sensor, a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and an 8-megapixel telephoto lens. On the front will be a 24-megapixel camera. This will all be powered by Qualcomm’s Spectra 580 ISP chip.

The smartphone will also come with Snapdragon Sound, the company’s new sound technology that will allow 24-bit, 96kHz high-resolution Bluetooth music playback on the device.

With the $1,500 price tag, the smartphone will come packaged with wireless earbuds, a 65W charger, a rubber bumper case, USB-C cable, and a USB-C to A cable.

The smartphone will initially be available in August in China, Germany, the UK, and the US.

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